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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23649589">Trinity</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignis_Fatuus/pseuds/Ignis_Fatuus'>Ignis_Fatuus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kingdom Hearts</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canon Compliant, Donald and Goofy are the best dads, During Canon, Fluff and Humor, Gen, Minor canon divergences, Slice of Life, Sora is growing up, Team as Family, tags will be updated as I write</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:08:52</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,752</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23649589</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignis_Fatuus/pseuds/Ignis_Fatuus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Are you ever just wandering the dark streets of an unknown town, looking desperately for your lost friends, when suddenly a royal magician duck and a  royal knight dog fall on you and flatten you to the ground? It just happened to Sora and, next thing he knows, he's this world's (and a bunch of other worlds') hope to have Light again.</p><p>A journey along all the Half-Pint Squad's adventures, from start to wherever their hearts take them next.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Donald Duck &amp; Goofy &amp; Sora (Kingdom Hearts)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. This boat runs on happy faces</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everyone, I'm Soraaly! First of all, if you are reading this, thank you so much for your interest in my writing! </p><p>This is my first time sharing fics on Ao3, so I am a little bit nervous and a whole lot excited... I recently fell down the hole of Kingdom Hearts all over again, and I really love the dynamics between Sora, Donald, and Goofy - so I wanted to contribute to this love with my own two cents. This is a work in progress, and I intend for it to grow and expand from here. It follows the canon of the games, right from the Trio's very first meeting in Traverse Town, and I'll be following along the story and exploring my personal insights and interpretation of it (and then, eventually, getting to the next games as well). Some chapters will possibly be long, some chapters will possibly be short... I will let my inspiration guide me! And, for now, it will be mostly Trio-centric but, in future, I may also start adding more characters and different POVs. You'll have to wait and see! :D</p><p>Please note: although I'll be mostly following canon, I will also throw in my own headcanons, every now and then.</p><p>I've rambled enough for now, so here is my baby that I'm so happy to share with you guys.<br/>Have a good reading and I hope you enjoy ^^</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Gawrsh, Donald… I know the King told us to find this Key, but huh… didn’t expect the Key to be so young.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That’s not for us to judge, Goofy. If the Keyblade chose him, there must be a reason. We just do our job and keep an eye on him, till we get him to the King.</em>
</p><p>Unaware of what his new acquaintances were half-whispering about, figuring they were busy enough with the cockpit controls and panels, Sora practically had his face glued to the Gummi Ship’s window – staring outside in absolute awe. This was real, they were really flying… really speeding through the vast cosmos, with stars and planets and asteroids and comets swimming in this endless sea all around them! Truth be told, the lift-off did cause his stomach to flip over itself and smack right into the liver, and he had yet to get used to the sharp turns required to avoid Heartless ships whenever they got in the way… but, for the most part, this was already becoming an experience Sora wouldn’t forget even if he lived a hundred years. And was his wonder really such a surprise, for someone who’d been born and grown up in the smallest of islands, never having traveled anywhere else before? So much so that, by the time the three of them sat down together for dinner, Sora had not run out of curious questions to ask about everything new and exciting.</p><p>“Hey, Donald, do you think I can fly the ship one of these days, too?”</p><p>“What??” The duck nearly choked on his water, hastily putting the glass back down on the table before he accidentally sent it flying. “No way, that’s for professionals! You wouldn’t have a clue what to do!”</p><p>“That’s why I’m asking if you can teach me! You once had to learn how to do it too, didn’t you?”</p><p>Goofy snickered over his bowl of beans, not saying anything but clearly amused by this comeback. Too young for the Key or not, this boy seemed bright enough and wasn’t afraid of talking back to Donald – which, in his book, was already a big achievement.</p><p>“Forget it! I have more to think about, and so do you. Why don’t you start practicing your magic instead, like I taught you?”</p><p>This time, Sora answered by means of a pout only. Of course, he was beyond grateful that Donald took the time to teach him how to use his Keyblade to cast fire spells… but he still really wanted to try piloting the ship, as well! It didn’t look too difficult… and he was perfectly capable of dealing with Shadows and Soldiers now, why should Heartless ships be any diferent? Regardless, not wanting to be rude to his new friends who were kind enough to let him come along when he literally had nowhere else to go and no one else to be with, he opted for not insisting. At least, for the time being.</p><p>“Say… where are we headed, anyway? You guys said you’re looking for your King… do you have any idea where he may be?”</p><p>Goofy and Donald exchanged a look between them. Again with the Keybearer falling short on their expectations… They’d believed that he who held the Key would be someone incredibly wise and powerful, able to send the Heartless back to where they’d come from and to get rid of the Darkness and to bring peace back to all the worlds… but Sora honestly seemed even more lost than they were. He’d lost his homeworld, he’d been separated from his friends, he didn’t know anything about King Mickey’s endeavor and he didn’t even know why he’d been chosen by the Keyblade… matters weren’t looking so great, were they? Regardless, their orders were clear and they had no doubt they could trust the King. Maybe, as they traveled to new worlds, everything would start making more sense.</p><p>Goofy was the one breaking the silence this time. “Don’t worry!” Sora had so much going on at the moment and, despite being so excited about flying and seeing new sights, no doubt he would need a bit longer to get used to all this and to properly process such a radical change in his life. There was no need to burden him further with his and Donald’s questions and doubts. “The King told us to find the Key, and we found you. Maybe we don’t really know what to do yet, but we just hafta keep looking. We’ll figure out what to do, and we’ll find him for sure.”</p><p>That seemed to put the smile back on Sora’s face. “Right! I’ll find Riku and Kairi as well, and I’ll have a lot of stuff to tell them about. Wait till Riku sees my Keyblade, he’s gonna be so jealous!”</p><p>“So be good and finish your food, then I’ll show you to your room.”</p><p>It came out a lot more maternal than Donald had planned, but oh well. Mission aside, Sora reminded him of his nephews and, if he could do something to make all this mess a little easier on the boy, then why not? Soon they were done eating and he was guiding Sora down the Gummi corridors, explaining where were the other rooms, till they stopped in front of a specific door. The ship wasn’t too big, and it only had two bedrooms, so one would be for Sora now… which meant Donald would, from now on, be stuck with enduring Goofy’s loud snoring every night. The mission required sacrifices, didn’t it? And not even he was grumpy enough to make Sora sleep on the couch, so this would have to do.</p><p>“Don’t expect anything fancy. We’re royal court but we’re not rich.”</p><p>Snickering, Sora walked in after turning on the lights, to take a good look around. It was actually about the same size as his room back home, so that was perfect… even if the decoration was a lot barer. The furniture was simple, in the general style of the rest of the ship, and there was the bed, a small nightstand with a lamp, an also small desk with a couple drawers, a chair, and a chest for clothes. At least this much he wouldn’t have a need for, right now, considering the only things he owned were literally the clothes he was wearing. Other than this, the Munny given by Leon and a few other scraps collected after battle so far, but these savings belonged to the three of them – for potions, items, armor, things of the like.</p><p>“Maybe, as we visit new worlds, I’ll find cool things to bring here.”</p><p>“Don’t count on that. We won’t be doing tourism.” Still, Donald spoke these words with a smile of amusement, promptly mirrored by Sora’s sweet one.</p><p>“Thank you, Donald. For the room and, huh… you know. For everything.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Deep freeze!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the interest this fic is getting so far, it's wonderful to have such a nice welcome and that you guys are enjoying reading it ^^</p><p>Today the gang is back in the Gummi Ship, and Sora is realizing that fighting the Heartless isn't as simple as it seems... but also trying to find creative uses for his newly learned magic. Why should it be used for battle only, right? The question is: will Donald be in the mood for this?</p><p>Happy reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Do you think we can use magic to make it snow?”</p><p>Donald held back his <em>quack!</em> of frustration, instead shooting the boy with a glare. “Sora, focus!”</p><p>“I am! But– do you think we could? It’s ice magic, after all.”</p><p>“Blizzard is a spell for battle! It’s not to be used for this sorta things!”</p><p>Sora shrugged his shoulders in response, looking clearly not convinced. “It’s just that I never saw snow… I’m pretty sure that if I tried–“</p><p>“FOCUS!!”</p><p>At that, Sora had to decide that losing the argument might be preferable to having his eardrums wrecked by the duck’s strident yells – which didn’t mean he’d stop entertaining the idea, of course. The Destiny Islands weren’t a place for snow, at all… not even for anything resembling winter. For as long as he could remember, the weather had always been sunny and warm and nice – not that he was complaining about it, but the heart was a funny thing and tended to always year for more than what it already had. Once, he and Kairi and Riku had actually planned to travel to a place with lots of snow, so they could race on a sleigh down a mountain, and have snowball wars, and let the snowflakes melt on their tongue.</p><p>But, apparently, using magic to create snow was not acceptable.</p><p>“I dunno what’s wrong with that, anyway.” He was smart enough to mumble to himself, this time, and avoid further scolding. Donald was an amazing magician, he’d give him that much, but he was also a strict teacher and not one with a lot of patience to spare on, according to him, silly questions. In Sora’s opinion, the silly thing was to be able to control such power and not know how to make the best of it.</p><p>Either way, amazing or not, controlling magic and being able to properly cast spells required a lot more training and dedication than he’d first thought. It was easy enough to just use his Keyblade to summon fireballs, and the Cheshire Cat had unexpectedly revealed to him the secret to using the ice element… but Sora was quickly realizing that was just the tip of the iceberg. Hitting flying Heartless, for example, was a lot harder and he tended to miss more often than not, and he also had yet to find a good balance for MP consumption – a lesson he learned the hard way, after happily spamming spells till he was wheezing on the ground in the middle of the Lotus Forest. Really good thing they’d had an Ether at hand.</p><p>For this motive, now that they were back in the Gummi and retracing the way to Traverse Town, Donald had decided to give him proper lessons in magic casting. The first lesson was to learn to control his magic without the help of a weapon, to improve both his accuracy and the MP spending rate. Again, it was easier said than done… The ship’s training room wasn’t a big one, and it didn’t allow for real battle training – only for simple and safe magic casting. Sora had been here all morning and now half of the afternoon but, despite some progress, he wasn’t feeling very accomplished.</p><p>“Shouldn’t I be learning how to use magic in battle, instead?”</p><p>“I told you, you have to start with the basics. If you rush in, your spells won’t be effective and maybe you’ll even hurt yourself. Learning some defensive magic wouldn’t be a bad idea, either – you can’t just dodge roll your way out of everything.”</p><p>Once more, the teen’s shoulders slumped. It wasn’t that he didn’t agree with Donald, really… especially because the recent adventures in Wonderland still had him so sore, after that one Large Body that caught him off guard and basically squashed him against a tree – the Potion might have healed his broken ribs very fast, but his back still hurt and the bruising would take a couple days to fade. Regardless, he felt the need to keep being stubborn about it. The basics of magic wouldn’t help him finding his friends, what he needed was a way to get stronger and be able to make way through any Heartless coming his way, no matter the size. And… if he could use Blizzard to bring snow, that’d also be awesome, yeah.</p><p>Either way, because he was also stubborn enough to keep practicing till he improved (if nothing else, to be able to brag to Donald about it), Sora took a moment to stretch his arms above his head with a content noise – and then went back to work. His hands rested on his knees for a brief moment, as he sat cross-legged on the training room’s floor, and he closed his eyes for better focus. Then he turned his palms up and brought them together, making a small flame appear.</p><p>“Good. Keep going. Try to move it – up and down, for a start.”</p><p>The praise had Sora reopening his eyes, but the smile now on his lips was a mixed one. Moving something up and down was supposed to be really easy… but, when it came to this flame, it’d been getting the best of him for the past two hours or so. Donald could do it without trouble, and, even if he was aware he was probably just being impatient, Sora couldn’t help but wonder that maybe he’d never be able to master it. That maybe all his power and skills came from the Keyblade, only. And, well… it wasn’t entirely a lie, was it? Before all this, he’d been just a boy like any other his age. Even when it came to fighting with wood swords, Riku had always been stronger and faster and better than him. On the other hand… it was also undeniable that Goofy and Donald had only invited him to come along because they were ordered to find the Key. Did this mean that maybe he was nothing, without the Keyblade? That, if one day he didn’t have it anymore, Riku and Kairi and Donald and Goofy and maybe even his mother wouldn’t bother with him, anymore?</p><p>“SORA! PAY ATTENTION!”</p><p>The yell brought a startled gasp out of him – and another, when he realized he’d absently made the fireball grow so large and so close to his face that it was right about ready to set the spiky ends of his hair on fire. Thankfully, it dissolved as soon as his concentration was broken, but Donald’s foot now angrily tapping on the floor was a clear indication he was still in trouble.</p><p>“Huh, fellas…? Is everything all right over there?” Goofy’s muffled voice coming from the cockpit didn’t save the situation, unfortunately – because, instead of answering the very legitimate question, Donald began on his rant.</p><p>“You can’t be spacing out all the time! Magic is a serious thing and requires a lot of practice, and– and you know what, maybe this just isn’t for you!”</p><p>These words stung more than they should have. Yes, it’d been his fault… he was far more talented at jumping at Heartless to smack them with the Keyblade than he was at sitting still and focusing his mind. But Donald’s short temper was rubbing off on him and, all of a sudden, Sora was more angry than he was hurt. “Fine!” Glaring back, he hastily stood up and headed out of the training room. “See if I care! I don’t need your magic anyway, I’m doing just fine!” And, with this, he entered his bedroom and slammed the door shut.</p><p>Needless to say, it was Donald’s cue to storm down the corridor himself, plopping down on the seat besides Goofy’s with a <em>hmpf!</em> and with tightly folded arms.</p><p>“Gee… That didn’t go so well, did it?”</p><p>“He’s impossible!”</p><p>“Maybe I could teach him some abilities–“</p><p>“Forget it, I don’t care anymore! Let him fight the way he wants and do everything the way he wants – and, if he gets hurt, I don’t care!”</p><p>Shaking his head with a frown, Goofy refrained from commenting that, for someone who didn’t care, Donald did seem quite worked up about it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Friends in our hearts</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone, Soraaly here! Hope you are all well and taking care! :3</p>
<p>Today, we're diving into the Deep Jungle! We're literally diving, because, as we all know, our dear Sora crashed the Gummi and now everyone is mad at everyone, and... will the squad be able to overcome all this mess and remember the loving ties that bind them?</p>
<p>Happy reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Sometimes, bad things happen for a good reason.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>And, sometimes, good things happen for a bad reason.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Sora wanted to believe he was becoming smarter in figuring out the details and hidden meaning of his mysterious dreams. Honestly, when you experience a very vivid dream of fighting a giant made of Darkness and, next day, your whole island is sucked into the void, you <em>should</em> learn to start paying attention, one way or the other. Problem was… he wasn’t very good at reading beyond the lines, and he was even worse at anticipating bad things that might happen in the future. Even after awakening in a different world, separated from his friends and with no clue about what was happening, he was still quite the optimist – willing to believe that everything would be okay in the end. While this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, it sometimes (maybe many times) blinded him to danger potentially coming his way, because his first instinct was to trust the good in others and to look for the bright side of every situation.</p>
<p>And, now that he thought of it, maybe he should have been more distrustful in regards to a man carrying around a big weapon and who was cold-hearted enough to point it at defenseless gorillas.</p>
<p>Maybe he should have seen this coming.</p>
<p>And… maybe he should have listened to Donald, about learning defensive magic.</p>
<p>Not that he’d admit this last part out loud, of course, because the two of them were still not on speaking terms – not after their last fight, not even after the team won the games at the Coliseum and got promoted to Junior Heroes, and, certainly, not after their struggle for the Gummi commands ended up with them crashed down in the Jungle and scattered all over. The issue was that the two of them had similar personalities, when it came to being impatient and hot-headed (can you imagine poor Goofy putting up with these two?), and it was easy to clash – and Sora really didn’t want to be the one to admit defeat. Why should he?</p>
<p>Regardless, it was undeniable how relieved he’d been, when the three of them reunited in Jane’s tent, despite being so fast to hide his smile with another grumpy frown… and it was also undeniable that the Heartless around these parts really knew how to pack a punch. Sora had purposefully replaced Donald in the party with Tarzan, under the excuse that Tarzan knew the area and could help them progress faster… but, without their designated magician, they were eating through their healing supplies and, more than once, having to stop fighting in order to use a Potion almost cost him dearly. Like that time when Sabor almost chomped off his hand. Or that time when he got pounced by three Powerwilds at once. Or this time right now, when the Stealth Sneak was tossing him around like a ball and making it nearly impossible to predict its moves, in order to dodge.</p>
<p>And, of course, there was still no Donald to heal him.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Sometimes, looking too hard for what you can’t see makes you miss the obvious.</em>
</p>
<p>
  
</p>
<p>At first, Sora couldn’t really tell the difference. In the heat of battle, with such rush of adrenaline, it felt just like any other hit from an enemy – just a sharp sting on his right side, probably a kick by one of the chameleon’s hind legs that he’d failed to predict yet again. Thankfully, his new Scan ability indicated that the beast was almost done for, and this wasn’t the time to stop. So he kept wacking away the best he could, for a minute longer or so… till the world started feeling different around him. Like the ground was swaying under his feet, and his arms were growing heavier after every hit, and it was getting harder to breathe, and… and had his vision always been this blurry…? No time to rub at his eyes, not when they were this close to victory, so instead he tried blinking it away – he blinked once and his knees decided to go weak and give up on him, he blinked twice and the world was suddenly tilting at an odd angle, he blinked thrice and was too exerted to open his eyes again.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Goofy was doing his absolute best to keep his friends protected, but it was no easy feat by no stretch of the imagination. He’d never faced an enemy like this before, that could so easily blend in with the surroundings and become almost totally invisible… more than the Heartless, though, for once what worried him was the human being – Clayton’s terrible gun. Fortunately, his sturdy shield was good enough at reflecting the bullets, but there was very little chance to feel at ease, because one single missed move might put Tarzan or Sora in danger. So, for the most part, he was doing defensive work throughout the battle, and leaving the other two to be the damage dealers. And this is why he was the first to notice.</p>
<p>One of his pals falling over during battle was nothing new, but the knight would never not feel awful about it – Potions and other items or magic made healing look quite easy, but they still had to endure that pain when it happened. Especially with Sora, since their adventures began and their destines grew enmeshed, Goofy felt his heart break every time. This boy was supposed to be out there living a normal life, going to school and having fun and following his dreams like every other kid his age… instead, he was risking his life in order to bring a brighter future to all worlds. How could he not worry? And how could he not be proud of how kind and strong Sora was, even if they’d been together for such little time? Tarzan’s yell indicated that he’d finally landed the last hit on Clayton (or the shell that was left of him, after Darkness consumed his heart), and that’s when Goofy noticed.</p>
<p>Sora was slumped on the ground.</p>
<p>“Sora!!”</p>
<p>As fast as his own injuries allowed him to move, Goofy ran over, trying to convince himself that this was just a normal thing that sometimes happened during battle – he’d been knocked out before, so did Donald, and probably it was just Sora’s turn at bad luck, this time. A Potion or two would bring him right up again, in no time! Or so he thought… till he carefully gathered the teen’s unconscious body in his arms and noticed a shade of red that did not match the rest of his jumpsuit. “Gawrsh… is this…?“ It was blood, wasn’t it…? Sora was bleeding! If he was Donald, he would have let out a quack loud enough to be heard all the way back in Traverse Town… since he wasn’t, he yelled a OH NO! almost as loud, and hurried to stand up with Sora in his arms. “Tarzan, hurry! We have to go back to the tent!” No need to, however, because, almost as if he’d guessed it, Donald went to meet them halfway through the bamboo thicket.</p>
<p>“What happened? Where’s Clayton? And the gorillas?”</p>
<p>“No time, Donald… help me here! Sora’s bleeding! I- I think one of Clayton’s bullets hit him, I couldn’t keep them all away…” The knight’s voice was thick with worry and guilt, as he once more knelt on the ground and held Sora’s body protectively close to his own.</p>
<p>“Oh boy…” He knew this was going to happen, didn’t he? He just knew it… This reckless boy and his reckless stubbornness, he really shouldn’t have left him off training that easily! Realizing he must act quickly, though, Donald pushed back his own guilt and grabbed his staff – there’d be plenty of time to scold Sora later, once he was his vibrant self again and not this pale, lifeless ragdoll. “We don’t have a way to remove that bullet… I will have to make the flesh heal around it.”</p>
<p>Goofy gulped, holding back his tears. That didn’t sound healthy at all… but what other choice did they have? It was either this or to wait for Sora to bleed out like a water bottle full of holes. So, tightening his hold around the boy, he gave Donald a determined nod. “I know you can do it, pal!”</p>
<p>With a deep breath, Donald held the staff up high and said the incantation, and promptly Sora’s body was engulfed by the bright healing light – just to be sure, Donald cast the spell again and again, till he ran out of MP and was certain the wound was closed for good. No doubt, it was going to leave a scar, especially with the bullet still nestled in the flesh… but, thankfully, the worst seemed to be over. Tarzan helped them carry Sora back to the tent and, once in there, Jane gladly offered her bed for the teen to rest in for the time being. Now it’d be a matter of waiting.</p>
<p>And they waited, for the good portion of the day. Morning, afternoon, evening – with Donald and Goofy taking turns to check on their friend, almost once every ten minutes.</p>
<p>The sun was already setting when Sora finally stirred awake – not sure of what hurt more, between his head and his right side. Slowly, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times, also not sure of where he was. This wasn’t his room’s ceiling, and it also wasn’t the Gummi ship… where was he? Even more slowly, he sat up and immediately winced, clasping a hand a bit above his hip, but the curiosity to know where he was and what was going on overcame his aching. A tent… wait a minute, this was Jane’s tent, wasn’t it? In the Jungle? The ship crashed, and Tarzan said he knew where Kairi and Riku were, and they slid down trees and vines, and– and Clayton, they went to find Clayton and the hunter summoned a huge invisible Heartless out of nowhere… and that’s the last thing Sora could remember, before everything went black. He must have been hurt during that fight, that would explain why his whole body now felt like it’d been run over repeatedly by a firetruck.</p>
<p>Tentatively, he stood up and took a couple small steps towards the entrance of the tent. At least he could walk, that probably meant it hadn’t been anything too serious… right? There were voices coming from the outside, and a nice smell of food roasting that pried a growl out of his tummy and made him wonder when he last ate. Gradually feeling his strength returning, he made his way out and brought a hand up to shield his eyes – still too sensitive even for the dim light of sunset. “Guys…?”</p>
<p>A simple word, spoken in a still weakened tone, that was magic in itself.</p>
<p>Donald dropped the soup pot and basically ruined half their dinner, Goofy dropped the stick he was using to feed the bonfire with and risked setting the whole camp afire, but neither of them cared – not when they’d just heard Sora’s voice! They actually seemed to have just become one single body controlled by the same mind, turning around at the exact same time, to make sure they weren’t imagining it.</p>
<p>There he was! Their Sora!</p>
<p>He still looked way paler than normal, still covered in dirt and dried blood from the battle, still holding onto the side of the tent as though a stronger breeze might knock him over… but he was awake! Rushing over, as Jane laughed quietly in relief and headed to clean up the mess they’d understandably just made, Goofy and Donald had to refrain from just pouncing the teen and to remind themselves he was likely still hurting all over. Talk about a weight being lifted off their back!</p>
<p>“Sora! You’re awake!”</p>
<p>“Are you feeling all right? Gee, you gave us a right proper scare…”</p>
<p>Their enthusiasm surprised Sora. True, he’d never gotten such a beating during battle, before… but the two of them were positively beaming as they looked at him. Had it really been so serious? Laughing a bit awkwardly, he rubbed at the back of his head with a hand. “Sorry, didn’t mean to worry you guys… What happened, though? I remember the fight, but– I don’t really remember how it went down. Did I faint?”</p>
<p>Now Donald couldn’t help the ruffling of his feathers. Goodness, they were going to turn grey soon, at this rate… To think that, hours ago, he’d been so mad at this boy’s immaturity for crashing the ship and not even in the mood to look at his face, and, right now, all he wanted was to catch him in the tightest of hugs and make sure nothing bad would ever happen to him again. Instead, what he did was to point an accusing finger. “You, young man! You have a whole lotta things to hear about! And first of all–“ Just like this, the fake angry expression faded and he opened a big smile to replace it. “First of all, you’re not leaving this Jungle before I teach you how to cast Cure spells! No way I’ll ever be this scared of losing you again, ya hear me!”</p>
<p>…Well, this was unexpected, and Sora’s eyes were now wide in surprise. Here he was, ready for the scolding of his life, but what Donald was giving him was the widest smile he’d seen on the duck’s face so far. Whatever happened to him during that battle, it must have been <em>really </em>serious, huh? There was still an old issue left to resolve, though, and he wouldn’t let childish stubbornness stop him anymore. This time, he left his hand on top of Donald’s shoulder and gently squeezed it. “Sorry about… what I said. And sorry for not listening to you. I promise I’ll train really hard, from now on!”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry, too.” With his smile even wider, if possible, Donald put his hand on top of Sora’s. That very special <em>Hyuck!</em> followed right after, as Goofy gathered his friends in a loving hug, and Sora promptly nuzzled his cheek back into Goofy’s.</p>
<p>“All for one and one for all!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. I'm not dreaming this time, right?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey everyone, Soraaly here!</p><p>Oh boy, I got a lot of feelings writing this chapter... Sora's doing a lot of thinking and a lot of introspection after his reunion with Riku in Traverse Town, and he's starting to think of things he's never thought of before. Also, I can sum up this chapter as: a puppy talks to another puppy. You'll see what I mean :3</p><p>Happy reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Am I dreaming?</em>
</p><p>He must be… he had to be. This was not a reality Sora wanted, that’s for sure. Not with his bedroom plunged in darkness, his mother calling him for dinner but in a horribly distorted voice that seemed plucked straight out of a horror movie… Worse, because he responded in the same tone and (…Was this voice really his? Had he ever sounded like a… like a Heartless?), when he tried to get up from bed, his body was suddenly made of jello dipped in fog and glue. It was hard to move, so hard that it took him a small eternity to go from the bed to the window… though, when he finally got there, he wished he hadn’t.</p><p>
  <em>What… what is this??</em>
</p><p>It wasn’t the moon. It wasn’t the sun, either, not in the middle of such dark sky, but it was just as bright – at first, Sora had to cover his eyes with a hand and a wince. His mother called again, in that tone that didn’t belong with her sweet, loving self and that had nothing to do with her embrace that always made him feel safe from everything bad in the world, but Sora found himself unable to turn away. It was like this thing in the night sky, whatever it was, had him hypnotized. It was large, so large that it occupied most of the sky for its own… still so bright, even if, little by little, he was bringing his hand down.</p><p>
  <em>The closer you get to the light, the greater your shadow becomes.</em>
</p><p>Hadn’t he heard this before, somewhere? Never like this, though… never so loud that the air around him was suddenly vibrating, resonating with those words. Never so loud that it made the floor shatter under his feet, and now he was falling – falling into darkness, but… falling upwards. Being sucked into that grotesque figure in the sky, that for a moment he could see was shaped like a… like a heart…? A gigantic heart in the sky? Hearts should never make you feel this terrified, though, and they should never be so ominous – and Sora opened his mouth to scream, but no voice came out. Not even the distorted one. Instead, that darkness engulfed him and–</p><p>–and he woke up, startled and with his heart racing so fast in his chest it was more like it was trying to break his ribs from the inside out. A dream… it really turned out to be a dream… or, well, a nightmare. Sitting up, he kicked the tangled covers away and wiggled his toes just for sake of proving that he could do it – that the awful sensation of being paralyzed was really gone, faded along with the nightmare. A droplet of sweat rolled down the side of his face, but Sora didn’t bother to wipe it away. Instead, he stood up and walked over to the window, needing one final reassurance that he was back in his normal reality.</p><p>Full moon in the sky of Traverse Town, most thankfully.</p><p>No heart-shaped gigantic abomination.</p><p>Finally sighing deeply in relief, the teen flopped back on his bed. Rather, the hotel’s bed, where he and Donald and Goofy were spending the night, after a rather busy day of delivering books and having the Gummi upgraded and kicking a suit of armor’s butt and sealing this world’s Keyhole. His friends were sleeping soundly, Sora could now notice – now that the beating of his heart was calming down and not muffling the rest of the world anymore, and his vision had cleared enough to let him glance around the room. Good thing he’d not woken them… and good thing they were here and safe and close to him, and not lost somewhere in a black hole.</p><p>Realizing he had to do something to push the remnants of the dream away, before this panic in his chest made him start banging his head on the wall, Sora quietly put on his hoodie and shoes and sneaked out of the room, and then out of the hotel entirely. The night breeze was fresh and slightly chilly and he welcomed it, considering his body still felt a bit like it was on fire. The whole Second District seemed to be asleep, with no sound to be heard as he took a seat near the stone rail, looking absently at the lower level and just waiting for that invisible hand squeezing his throat to go away.</p><p>Soon, however, he noticed something… Small figures moving here and there, and he didn’t need much longer to understand it was a handful of Shadows and Soldiers. Great, just what he needed right now… of course they were gathering nearby the Gizmo Shop, that place was a whole mystery and a half by itself. Why were they still around, if the Keyhole was now shut? …Were they here to put the big heart thing in the sky?</p><p>“Wow… I’m not gonna shut up about this, am I?”</p><p>Thankfully, the sound of his own murmured voice helped grounding him again, and telling the difference between reality and illusion. The Heartless didn’t seem to be up to anything bad, at least not from what he could see, and so he decided to not be the one picking a fight, either. If anything, he felt exhausted and ready to pass out again right where he was, but his stupid brain wouldn’t calm down. So much had happened, not only today but ever since his island disappeared, and it was like he was only now properly catching up with it. Like the whole thing was finally falling right on his head, all at the same time. Sighing again, Sora rested his arms over the bannister and then his head on top of them.</p><p>“I sure hope Riku’s okay.”</p><p>He must be, right? Riku was stronger and faster and smarter than anyone else Sora knew… well, except maybe Leon – perfectly able to take care of himself. Regardless, it was undeniable that meeting his best friend, earlier on, had left a bittersweet taste in his mouth. First, because Kairi was still missing and Riku also didn’t know where she might be… and, then, because Sora had really hoped Riku might have joined the party – okay, so Donald had had one of his little tantrums and what not, but surely he would have agreed in the end. But, just like that, Riku vanished into thin air again. There was so much that Sora wanted to talk to him about, and share his adventures in the other worlds, and brag about the Keyblade and his magic, and also hear about what Riku himself had been doing… Hopefully, they’d have another chance for this, soon?</p><p>“Huh?”</p><p>Looking down, Sora chanced to notice a small ball of black-and-white fluff approaching – eventually realizing it was one of the Dalmatian puppies he and the others had been helping along the way. “Hey, what are you doing here, little buddy? It’s late and you should be sleeping!” Not that he could talk much, because he was also out and about in the middle of the night. Smiling, he picked up the pup and snuggled it under his chin, noticing the soft growling offered in the Heartless’ direction. “Are you scared of them? It’s all right, don’t worry – I won’t let them do anything bad to you.”</p><p>It seemed to help the little one calming down, and Sora suddenly felt a bit better as well. This was why he’d been given the Keyblade, right? To protect? Leon and Aerith had made it very clear, he was the only one able to close the Keyholes and to prevent the worlds from being consumed by Darkness… pretty big responsibility, now that he thought about it. But he’d be okay, right? He had Goofy and Donald with him, after all, and maybe Riku would eventually join them as well – maybe even Kairi, after they found her. They just had to keep visiting new worlds and doing what they’d already done at Wonderland and the Deep Jungle, how hard could that be?</p><p>Still, as he glanced at the lower level of the District again, this time he saw something surprising. The Heartless were still there, and they were still not trying to cause trouble… on the contrary, they seemed to be… <em>playing with each other?</em> Sora observed in silence for a while longer, stroking the puppy’s back, and, the more he watched, the more he was convinced the Heartless were playing some sort of tag game – he’d played enough of that, with Riku and Kairi, to know. And this now was really odd, because he definitely wasn’t used to seeing the Heartless behaving like this. Every time they’d met, those creatures had been willing to fight in order to consume his heart… but, seeing them like this, they looked kinda innocent. Kinda friendly, even. Part of him actually wanted to go down there and join them. When was the last time he’d played tag?</p><p>“What am I talking about… they’re monsters.”</p><p>But were they, really? Well, they were supposed to be… they were beings that had lost their heart, and now preyed on the hearts of others – that was a pretty monster thing to do, if there ever was one. But if they’d lost their heart… didn’t that also mean they’d once had one? And… did that mean they were once people? Had he been destroying people, all this time…? No, no way! They weren’t people anymore, they were beings of Darkness that must be stopped… right? “Right…?” The pup didn’t answer him, of course, but offered a curious stare and soon was wiggling in his hold, probably wishing to return home, so Sora put it down and let it go – keeping an eye to make sure nothing happened, till the puppy was safely tucked in.</p><p>Which now left Sora alone with his thoughts. Why in the world was he even feeling sorry for the Heartless, all of a sudden? If he was to summon the Keyblade and make himself noticed, they would swarm to him in the blink of an eye and try to take his heart, without mercy nor hesitation… They’d stop having fun with their cute little game and they’d immediately come for him, he had no doubt. And he’d fight back, because that’s what he ought to do. And, if they truly were once people, then he’d now be doing them a favor and freeing them from the Darkness. Nonetheless, the stupid invisible hand was back at squeezing his throat.</p><p>“Sora?”</p><p>The familiar voice made him jump in place, definitely not expecting that – looking back to find Goofy’s smile staring back at him. “…Goofy! Y-you startled me…”</p><p>With a <em>hyuck</em>, the dog walked closer and sat besides Sora. “Sorry, didn’t mean to! I woke up and saw your bed empty… and came to see if you were all right.”</p><p>Sweet Goofy, always so loving and so caring… This really shouldn’t be a big thing, but Sora now felt his heart warming up so much he was afraid his voice might break – so he took in a deep breath and cleared his throat, before talking again. “I’m fine… I had a nightmare and I couldn’t sleep again, so I thought maybe some fresh air might help.”</p><p>“And did it help?”</p><p>Good question. Did it help? It kind of did, it kind of only made everything worse… Not certain of what to say, Sora simply shrugged his shoulders. “I guess.”</p><p>“Sounds like you have a lot on your mind, Sora.”</p><p>“I was just thinking… About Riku, and Kairi, and the Keyblade, and the Heartless, and… and a lotta things.”</p><p>With a coo, Goofy put an arm around the boy’s shoulders and brought him closer into a side-hug, till their heads were leaning on each other. Sora might have the brightest heart he’d ever met, always smiling and full of energy and so ready to help everybody, but this didn’t change the fact he had a very heavy burden to carry. Perhaps heavier than Sora himself had noticed, yet. “Ya know? This is a big adventure we’re on. There’s lotsa things to do, and we gotta help lotsa people along the way. And I know you wanna help them all, Sora, because you are a good person. But you gotta remember two things.”</p><p>“Two things?”</p><p>“Yessir! First thing is that you gotta remember there will be hard times… There will be times when you’re not sure what to do, and maybe you’ll not be sure if you’re doing the right thing. And, ya know? That’s all right! You don’t have to be strong all the time. You don’t have to be happy all the time.”</p><p>“But… what did you guys say, at the start? No frowning and no sad face, this boat–“</p><p>“This boat runs on happy faces, yeah – it’s true. But that doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to feel sad, when you’re sad. It doesn’t mean you have to pretend to be happy, when you’re not. And the second thing to remember: you’re not alone, Sora. Me and Donald are here for ya. Maybe sometimes we also won’t know what to do… but we’re here for ya, and together we’ll figure all of this out as we go. Together, ya hear me?”</p><p>Sora nodded, again feeling like he needed a moment to compose himself, before replying. Together, huh? Sounded exactly like what he was forgetting about… that he wasn’t alone. “Together… and we’ll keep being together, right?”</p><p>“Of course! We’ll always be together! Even when we’re apart, ‘cause our hearts are connected. That’s what being friends is about.”</p><p>“Even when we’re apart…” Sora’s hand moved over his heart. It was true… He could feel Riku in there, even if the older boy had left again. He could feel Kairi, even if he had no idea where she was. He could feel the new friends he’d been making, even if they were literally in different worlds. Just like this, the invisible hand faded and he looked back up at Goofy with a bright smile. “Right!”</p><p>Gawrsh, this smile was positively contagious. <em>With Sora’s smile, there’s nothing that can’t be saved.</em> “Think you can sleep, now? We’re having ourselves a busy day, tomorrow.”</p><p>“Yeah, I feel much better… Thanks Goofy.”</p><p>“A-hyuck, that’s what friends are for! Now come along, I’ll put you to bed and make sure you’re all snug and cozy. That helps chasing bad dreams away, too.”</p><p>Sora was slightly tempted to complain about this last part, and say that he wasn’t a kid – but this thought went away as soon as it surfaced. His mother used to put him to bed often and, right now, he was realizing how much he missed this kind of comfort… if Goofy was offering, why not take it? With a yawn, then, he followed along and stripped down to his red jumpsuit once more, letting the royal knight fluff the covers over and around him after he was all tucked in. As he was about to close his eyes, though, his hand instinctively reached over to grab Goofy’s forearm before he moved away.</p><p>“Goofy…?”</p><p>“Mhmm?”</p><p>“Do you think–“ Good thing they were in the dark, because Sora could feel his cheeks burning… but, fortunately, he was too tired to care about the I’m-not-a-kid reputation, for once. “…Can you give me a good-night kiss? Mom always did that.”</p><p>Can a heart melt? Goofy was finding out that his just did – hearing this shy request, it had just melted like butter during a hot summer day. Leaning down, he tenderly brushed back the teen’s bangs and kissed his forehead, before making sure one last time that he was as comfortable as he could be. Maybe he couldn’t carry Sora’s burden and mission for him, but he could make sure to hold his hand throughout it, no matter what. “Good night, Sora. Sleep well and have sweet dreams.”</p><p>“’Night, Goofy.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. You ain't never had friends like us</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hi everyone, Soraaly here and hoping you are all doing amazing!</p><p>Got comments to make, buuut... don't wanna spoil anything, so I'll see you guys down there at the end of the chapter notes :3</p><p>Happy reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Donald, if you found Genie’s lamp and could ask for three wishes, what would ya wish for?”</p><p>“Hmmm…” The magician tapped his chin thoughtfully. That was a good question. “First, I would hafta wish for something for Daisy. She wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t! Maybe a new dress, or some jewelry.”</p><p>This put an amused smile on Goofy’s face. It didn’t matter anyway, because Aladdin’s last wish had freed Genie and so the legend of the lamp was now over… but his good pal’s answer entertained him nonetheless. For anyone who knew Daisy at all, and the lady’s constant need for attention and to be pampered, it was hardly surprising. Donald Duck might be challenging to deal with at times, if not downright scary… but, behind a tough duck, there was always an even tougher she-duck! The two of them were a match made in heaven, Goofy believed. “And then?”</p><p>“Then… I’d wish to be as rich as Uncle Scrooge! I’d have my own castle and my own servants and my own Gummi Ship, and I’d never need to work again!”</p><p>Now Goofy couldn’t hold back his laughter. Of course, why would he expect any other answer! Even though he knew Donald had a heart made of gold, it was also true his friend was… quite easily entranced by materialistic matters, let’s call it like that. Thinking of it, Donald and Abu had a lot in common when it came to this. But he didn’t say this part out loud, because Donald was already glaring at him for laughing – so he hurried to do some damage control, knowing the magician’s temper better than anyone. “That’s a good wish, too!”</p><p>“Well, what about <em>you</em>? What would you wish for?”</p><p>“Gee… I think I would wish for us to find the King. Do ya think Genie could do that?”</p><p>That was an incredibly good idea, Donald had to admit – way more useful than a heap of money or a necklace for Daisy, in the long run, but he stubbornly clung to his own whims. Folding his arms, he perked up his chin superiorly. “I dunno. Genie said he had some limitations in his powers, didn’t he? So maybe he couldn’t even do it, and you’d just waste a wish!”</p><p>“Ohhh, I hadn’t thought of that…”</p><p>Really, sometimes it was so easy to make Goofy fall for his sketchy excuses, Donald almost felt bad for it. Almost. The knight’s frown didn’t last long, anyway – it never did.</p><p>“Hey, what if I wished for the Heartless to be gone? Maybe that coulda worked!”</p><p>It was a bit silly that they were having such a talk because, again, the lamp had lost its powers. Genie was now free and, even if he retained some magic tricks and had agreed to travel along with them and help in battle, there was no way to fulfill real wishes anymore. All of this was just wishful thinking, no pun intended, because they had some time to kill before leaving Agrabah for good. Why, you ask? Because <em>someone</em>, a someone with spiky brown hair and big blue eyes and too much enthusiasm for his own good, had practically begged Aladdin for some flying around atop the magic carpet – that’s what Donald would answer. So, for the time being, the two Key guardians were comfortably flopped on a few old, ragged cushions Aladdin had at his place, chatting about random topics with Sora’s laughter and delighted squeals echoing above them in the sky every now and then.</p><p>“That would at least have been faster than waiting for Sora to get the job done.”</p><p>“Aww, but I sure am happy he’s having some fun. He looked quite gloomy, after Princess Jasmine was taken.”</p><p>Donald hmpf’d and perked his chin even higher up, but he agreed. Obviously, Aladdin took that hit harder than anyone… but Sora had been distraught, as well. Maybe because it’d reminded him of his own friend who was still missing? Maybe because he felt like it was his fault, for leaving Jasmine on her own and going after Jafar instead? Even if your intention is the best, you can’t always help everyone with everything – it was a lesson Sora still had to learn.</p><p>“He’ll be all right. His job is to seal the Keyholes, anything else might be too much.”</p><p>“But he don’t care much for muddling–“</p><p>“Meddling!”</p><p>“That! That’s not so important to Sora, if it means he can help someone.”</p><p>Donald would have gladly protested further, but was interrupted by that same Sora finally returning from his aerial adventures. Carpet flew low, sending sand rippling across the main street, and the teen hopped off to land gracefully – like he’d been doing this his whole life. Donald and Goofy clapped for him from Aladdin’s big window (well, big hole in the wall, really), and Sora posed with a grin and hands on his hips, after a theatrical bow.</p><p>“Guys, that was amazing! You should try it, as well! We went back to the Cave of Wonders, and did you know there’s the ruins of some ancient city nearby, in the desert? We could go and–”</p><p>“Don’t even think about it! We’re already late, get ready to leave as soon as we’re down there.”</p><p>Sora’s smile softened at that – he tried! Flying was officially his new favorite thing, hopefully Aladdin wouldn’t mind letting him go for a ride again, next time they visited. But, for sure… they’d only visit after rescuing Jasmine. That had been a huge mistake, thinking she would have been safe just because Jafar was busy with something else… one that Sora didn’t plan on repeating, and did entirely plan on fixing. No point in dwelling, right?</p><p>“Thanks Carpet, that was awesome! See ya soon!”</p><p>With a hug to the fluffy piece of fabric, he watched Carpet flying away as Goofy and Donald approached. From there, it was quick way back to the Gummi, and soon they were boarding – with Sora making a straight dash for the main pilot’s seat. “My turn!”</p><p>Apparently, he hadn’t had his share of flying just yet. But the teen had been making a lot of progress as a Gummi pilot, so Donald didn’t bother complaining this time. At least, by now, they could trust him to not just crash against the first asteroid coming their way – even if the unnecessary amount of twirling and flipping was still something in need of being corrected. Regardless, because he also knew Sora’s attention span definitely wasn’t his best trait, Donald went over to join him at the cockpit, in order to take one of the side seats. Better to be safe than sorry, if he didn’t want another Deep Jungle deep dive happening. Goofy must have thought the same, given that he was taking the other side shortly after.</p><p>“Ready? Three, two, one… Go!”</p><p>Piloting the ship had been Sora’s favorite thing for the past couple weeks, but now he was finding it tied on the podium along with flying with Carpet. There was just something incredibly alluring about not being stuck with your feet on the ground, one way or the other. Just as his buddies had silently predicted, however, less than ten minutes went by before he began wiggling in his seat for a new position, as he so often would – sitting still for too long was a challenge, when it came to someone so full of energy. Leaning further back, Sora made himself cozy and plopped his feet on the sides of the control panel – knowing very well it’d last for a second at most, before Donald quacked at him to sit properly and not like a bag of Mystery Goo.</p><p>“Feet off the controls, ya little palooka!”</p><p>Nailed it right on the head. Doing a poor job of hiding his smile, Sora glanced sideways at the duck. “Hey, how long do you think it’ll be till we find Jasmine?”</p><p>“How should I know? I never even said we would look for her, that’s <em>your</em> idea.”</p><p>“Aw, c’me on! We’re looking for the King anyway, and for Kairi and Riku – might as well look for Jasmine and Alice, too.”</p><p>One of Goofy’s favorite things about Sora was how simple he could make everything seem. “Aladdin sure was worried.”</p><p>“He was, wasn’t he? They’re probably really close friends.” <em>Like me and those two. Guess I know how he feels.</em></p><p>“It’s not just that, Sora.” Donald scoffed in again, now that the flashy yellow shoes were where they belonged – on the floor.</p><p>“What do you mean?”</p><p>“What do you mean, what do <em>I</em> mean? Wasn’t that obvious? Aladdin loves her.”</p><p>This tickled Sora’s curiosity enough to shift positions again, now lazily resting one arm behind his head to keep piloting with the other hand only. “Isn’t that what I said? That they’re really close friends – I love Kairi and Riku, too. They’re my best friends.”</p><p>“That’s a different typa love. That’s love between friends.”</p><p>The frown of puzzlement he earned after these words had Donald staring silently at Sora for an instant, before exchanging a discreet knowing look with Goofy. First of all, he never expected to have to give this sort of talk to someone other than his nephews, in due time. Second, he also didn’t expect Sora to be this late of a bloomer… but, thinking of it, maybe it wasn’t so surprising after all. The boy might be 14, but he looked more like he was 12 – if not younger. And, with everything that’d been going on as of late, finding the love of his life probably wasn’t high up in his list of priorities.</p><p>“Being in love is different than loving someone. Haven’t you ever had a crush?”</p><p>That same confused frown was still firm in place, though now Sora shrunk himself a bit more in his seat. A crush on someone, huh? Truth be told, he’d never thought about that all that much. Sure, they’d joked about it back home, like that time when Riku dared him to win the race in order to share a Paopu with Kairi… Wait a minute, <em>had that been about having a crush?</em> If you share a Paopu fruit with someone you truly care about, your destines become intertwined forever – of course he knew this much, but didn’t that mean being friends forever? Always being together, always having fun together? Never having to be apart?</p><p>“Um… what’s the difference between being best friends and having a crush?”</p><p>Goofy was trying his best to not snicker at this sweet innocence, not wanting to fluster poor Sora more than he already was. “Well… when ya like someone that way, you’ll want to be with ‘em all the time. You’ll think about ‘em all the time.”</p><p>“But that’s the same–“</p><p>“<em>And.</em> You think about doing things that you don’t wanna do with anyone else – not even with your best friends.” Donald’s eyes were narrowed to little more than a slit by now, and the dangerous smile on his face made Sora swallow thickly. What was going on, all of a sudden…?</p><p>“Wha– what kind of things…?”</p><p>“Walking together. Holding hands. Hugging.”</p><p>“I do that–“</p><p>“<em>Kissing.</em> Kisses on the hand, kisses on the cheek, maybe even kisses on the lips.”</p><p>Granted, the magician shouldn’t be getting such a kick out of this devilish teasing, but he didn’t regret it one bit. Sora had completely forgotten about piloting, now far more occupied with trying to make himself look invisible in his seat, and he was blushing so brightly that his cheeks had become a perfect match to his jumpsuit.</p><p>“…I never thought ‘bout any of that.”</p><p>“Ya don’t say.”</p><p>“Hey!” The protest came out a lot more high-pitched than Sora had anticipated, which didn’t help any with the hole he was currently digging for himself. With a flail, he shifted this time to kneel on his seat, away from the view of the cosmos he should be focusing on and, instead, pointed completely towards Donald. Maybe sometimes he also walked into traps as easily as Goofy. “That’s not important anyway, we have so much stuff to get done! I’m not gonna worry ‘bout any of that till I’m really old – like… when I’m 20 or something!”</p><p>Donald was channeling his last ounces of self-control into not breaking down laughing – still not done with his prodding and poking. “What if it happens <em>before</em> that, hmm? What if, in the next world we visit, you’ll meet someone, hmmmmmmm? A lovely someone you’ll wanna hold hands with and kiss–“</p><p>“Oh, shut up Donald!!” Once more, too high-pitched and undignified for his liking. Flopping back with a growl of frustration, Sora unbuckled his safety belt (that he’d for once remembered to put on, and, ironically, was now wishing he hadn’t because he was fumbling and wasting time in the middle of such dire crisis) and practically jumped out of the main pilot’s seat, hurriedly starting on his way down the corridor and towards his bedroom. “Anyway, this is stupid and I got things to do! I– I’m… I gotta take a look at my new keychain and see if it’s better than the others!”</p><p>Once the slam of the door came, slightly louder and with more energy than needed, Goofy and Donald finally surrendered to the laughing they’d been holding back so fiercely. This turned out to be one amazing ending to such a busy and otherwise serious day!</p><p>“Golly… I never knew Sora was so shy!”</p><p>“Serves him right! Next time he’s on my nerves, I know exactly what to talk about to send him away.”</p><p>“Be nice, Donald! Next time someone holds his hand, he might just think the person wants ta marry him and run away.”</p><p>“Oh boy… if that happens, I wanna be there to watch it!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Can I say this was probably my favorite chapter to write yet?<br/>We just learned that, for all his being the Key to the world's hearts and what not, Sora is very bad at matters of /his own/ heart!</p><p>My terrible jokes aside, I'm really happy that this fic is blooming and expanding in such a spontaneous way for me. Originally, I did not really intend to focus on shipping Sora with anyone... and I'm still not sure if there will be any references to this - but the way this chapter came out got me wondering. I ship Sora with a bunch of different people, so if I picked only one to be the "official" ship of this fic I'd feel like I'm betraying everyone else lol. Well, I'll do what I always do and I'll see where inspiration takes me, chapter after chapter!</p><p>Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed ^^</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. But I thought you liked games</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everyone, Soraaly here! I hope you are well and drinking water and stretching and taking care ^^</p>
<p>Today we are visiting the belly of a whale! How many people are (un)lucky enough to say this? But to be accurate... the gang has already visited and they've already come out, and now there's a lot to process. Because it's just like Goofy says: Sora's at the age of thinking a lot about stuff.</p>
<p>Happy reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Would you prefer something different, Sora?”</p>
<p>Goofy had put his best effort into this yummy-looking grilled cheese sandwich, figuring the boy could do with a bit of extra pampering after everything that went down in Monstro (Was the whale even aware of the mess unfolding in its belly? Or had it been just another regular day of floating around in space eating ships?) – but, unfortunately, it didn’t seem to be working. Sora had just been staring at his plate for the past five minutes, just silently poking at it with one finger or the other, with his chin resting heavily on a hand. Any other time, he would have devoured it in the blink of an eye and asked for more… now, it’d already gone cold.</p>
<p>“Or maybe I can warm it up some more for ya. Cold grilled cheese ain’t good.”</p>
<p>“It’s fine, Goofy… I– I’m not really hungry, sorry.” Saying that, Sora stood up and did what he could to put a smile on his face, leaving a gentle, apologetic squeeze on the knight’s shoulder. “Save it for later? I promise I’ll eat it later.”</p>
<p>Donald sighed, munching on his own sandwich, watching along with Goofy as Sora practically dragged himself out of the kitchen and then down the corridor. You could almost grab his sadness from the air around him, and even the Gummi ship was suffering from it – running slower than usual, given the lack of its happy faces fuel. Seeing Sora like this was daunting, as if he was someone else entirely. Not the ball of sunshine and energy they had grown so used to.</p>
<p>“Gawrsh… is he gonna be all right? Kids ought to eat well and at proper hours! Especially with all the magic casting he’s been doing…”</p>
<p>Such a long way, from that scare at the Jungle. As of late, Sora himself had been doing most of the team’s healing through Cure spells – always backed up by Donald, evidently, but keeping everyone at their top shape as best and as often as he could. His magic training was clearly paying off, with his spells gradually growing more powerful in both offense and defense, and that’s exactly why his appetite had also been increasing in the same proportion. But not today.</p>
<p>“He said he’d eat later. We’ll make sure of that.”</p>
<p>“That Riku feller sure wasn’t nice… I dunno how he can be Sora’s best friend when they’re so different. Sora would never do anything like that.”</p>
<p>This thought alone was enough to ruffle Donald’s feathers – suddenly chewing that sandwich a bit too harshly. “It’s all his fault! What’s he thinking, teaming up with the Heartless?”</p>
<p>“He said that Kairi’s heart–“</p>
<p>“Phooey! He’s probably lying, how can we trust someone who does what he did!”</p>
<p>“Right you are, Donald, but… Sora’s upset by it, anyway. Wish we could do something to help him feel better.” Shaking his head worriedly, Goofy carefully wrapped the lonely grilled cheese sandwich and stored it in their fridge. Maybe a chocolate cake would make Sora smile again? It was worth the try.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>You only seem interested in running around and showing off that Keyblade these days. Do you even want to save Kairi? </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Synthesizing materials had started as a bit of a frustrating endeavor. At first, Sora didn’t even know what use there could be for some of the things he and the gang were finding along their way – in treasures chests, in secret locations, left behind by the Heartless after battle. What was he supposed to do with a lucid shard? He didn’t even know why they were called lucid to begin with! After meeting the Moogles at the shop, however, this changed. Because he’d be able to synthetize useful weapons and armor and accessories, of course, but also because it didn’t take long for Sora to realize this was actually quite fun. Collecting things for the heck of it was boring… but collecting things with a purpose, having now an indication of what he was missing and for what objective, this was a challenge he could easily get into! Needless to say, with the Moogles also saying that, the more items he made, the more would become available to make in future – tapping at his competitiveness like this, there was no better way to fire him up.</p>
<p>Ever since, his desk was a mess at the best of times – keychains and shards and gems and other materials scattered all over it, along with the few scrolls and recipes the Moogles had gifted him to help along his experiences. And, whenever not busy practicing magic at the training room or having fun piloting the ship, Sora could always be found in his bedroom – making notes on what materials he had and what he was missing, checking the items he’d already synthetized and what he wanted to do next.</p>
<p>Today, however…</p>
<p>Today was different.</p>
<p>Today he was still going through the bits and pieces he’d collected in Monstro, still updating his notes and lists, still occupying his free time till they got to the next world – but today, more than occupying time, he was running away. From Riku’s voice in his head and the things he’d said, from the image of Riku taking Pinocchio away from Geppetto so coldly, from the thought of Kairi having become just like that… just like a lifeless puppet without a heart.</p>
<p>And was it working?</p>
<p>Not really.</p>
<p>“I hope Riku got out of there in the end…”</p>
<p>He must have – if he could find his way inside the creepy whale, he must have been able to get out as well, right? In a way, Sora didn’t even know why he was worrying so much. He should be angry at Riku, for everything he said and everything he did… but, rather than anger, there was a heaviness in his chest he couldn’t quite get rid of. It was sadness, more than anger… Sadness that Riku had left yet again. Sadness that Kairi was still missing and, from the looks of it, might not be doing so well. Sadness that he didn’t understand why this silly fight with his best friend was happening, and that he apparently couldn’t do anything about it. Did Riku really think he didn’t want to save Kairi…? How could he believe such a thing, when Sora had been looking for the two of them since he first got to Traverse Town? Okay, so Riku had not been around to see that, or to see Sora even fight with Donald because of them… but he should believe Sora, shouldn’t he? Wasn’t that what being best friends was about – always having each other’s back? To Sora, it didn’t make any sense to have it any other way… and the fact that Riku accused him of not caring felt more like one of these sharp frost shards stabbed in his heart.</p>
<p>Riku’s attitude, in itself, had been sharp as a shard. The Riku he knew would never be so cruel… The Riku he knew would never have taken a son from a father, and would never have thought of hurting someone even if it was for the sake of saving someone else. Or was it Sora the one who was wrong…? He’d been so sure of what he said, his comebacks to Riku before and during and after the battles, but right now it was like he was trapped in a bubble – a bubble slowly filling with water, and he was going to drown if he didn’t break it and got out.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Maybe this puppet can help someone who’s lost their heart. </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Did Kairi really lose her heart…? But how could that be? And how could Riku know that, if they hadn’t found her yet? “Riku… Are you hiding something from me?” Best friends didn’t do that, either.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>What do you care about her? </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>And best friends surely didn’t say such things. A whole big lot, that’s what Sora cared! Kairi was his best friend as well, <em>their</em> best friend, but now… now, everything seemed to be crumbling. The three of them were apart, and Sora’s heart ached for them. He’d joined Donald and Goofy certain that he’d find his friends, certain that they’d be okay and that, as soon as the mess with the Darkness was resolved, they could go back home to their island. It was supposed to be a big adventure, one with troubles and dangers no doubt, but… one with a happy ending, too. Was it dumb of him, to believe that? Should he be looking at everything in a cynical way, like Riku seemed to be doing? But what could have happened to turn Riku like this? What could have possibly happened to make him think that joining with the Heartless was the way out…? That wasn’t right, this much Sora knew. Even if he currently wasn’t sure about anything else, he had no doubts when it came to what was Light and what was Darkness. Darkness could never be the key to saving Kairi – or anyone, for that matter.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>Let’s join forces to save her. We can do it, together.</em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Together… that’s exactly what he wanted, to be together again! Together with Riku and Kairi and Donald and Goofy! Not <em>this</em> kind of together… not if together meant having to choose between friends, and much less if it meant having to start doing all the wrong things and paying all the kind of wrong prices. How could Riku not see any of this…?</p>
<p>“Is it my fault? Should I… should I have gone with him…?”</p>
<p>How would he have felt, if it was the other way around? If Riku had chosen to stay with new friends he’d made? Guess Sora wouldn’t have enjoyed that, either… but. But it shouldn’t be like that – it shouldn’t be that he chose new friends over the old. It shouldn’t be that he chose to seal Keyholes and to save new worlds instead of saving Kairi. Ironically, right now, he didn’t feel like he could save anyone anyway… How could someone believe he could save entire worlds, if he couldn’t even find one of the persons he cared more about? If he couldn’t even make sure she was all right and safe? Being the Keyblade’s chosen one, being the one to close the door to Darkness and the one who’d bring Light… maybe– maybe this was all a big mistake, after all. Maybe there was no way he could do everything he was expected to do. Maybe he couldn’t do everything the King believed he would do. And, the moment he thought this, Sora felt a tear rolling down his cheek and dripping from his chin to the keychain he was still holding.</p>
<p>“N-no… I can’t… The Gummi needs–“</p>
<p>Unsurprisingly, their fine vessel that had been flying slower and slower within the past few minutes, finally came to a halt – out of fuel. Perfect, this was the cherry on top of the cake… not only he couldn’t do any of what he was supposed to do, now he couldn’t even keep them going. Quickly dabbing at his eyes, Sora turned to look at his room’s door just in time to see his companions walking in – in his current distress, failing to see that they didn’t look about to scold him but, instead, the two of them looked downright concerned.</p>
<p>“Donald– I’m– I’m sorry, it’s my fault… I made the ship stop… Goofy– sorry… I’ll fix it!”</p>
<p>Only now that they’re closer, Sora managed to see the obvious. Or, well… he was feeling it, rather than just seeing. Donald was the first, reaching to take his hands away from the keychain and into his own larger, feathery ones. And Goofy was now crouching by his side, so they could be at eye level, draping his arm over Sora’s shoulders. Neither of them said a word about the ship, in fact they were acting like it wasn’t important at all.</p>
<p>“Sora… are you all right?”</p>
<p>“I’m–“ <em>I’m fine,</em> he could have said; <em>it’s nothing,</em> he could have added. Instead, another tear broke free and Sora felt his voice about to crack like a sheen of thin ice atop a lake, and the only thing he managed to let out was what he’d already just said. “I’m sorry… I made the ship stop, I’m– I’m sorry…”</p>
<p>Suddenly, he wasn’t apologizing for the ship only, rather for everything that was threatening to make him heart overflow – for everything his mind was convincing him was true. <em>I’m sorry that I’m still not good enough with magic. I’m sorry that we lost Alice and Jasmine. I’m sorry there are still so many Keyholes to seal. I’m sorry there are still Heartless everywhere. I’m sorry we still haven’t found your King. I’m sorry I dragged you both along to find my friends. I’m sorry for causing so much trouble. I’m sorry for not being able to do what you expect me to do, I’m sorry for not being the Keyblade master you expected, I’m sorry that my heart isn’t strong enough, I’m sorry for everything… I’m sorry…</em></p>
<p>“I’m –“</p>
<p>“Shhhhhh…” Donald moved closer, leaving his hands to cup Sora’s cheeks. “Don’t you apologize for one single thing, ya hear me.”</p>
<p>“Right!” Goofy promptly joined in, shifting to kneel on the floor so he could momentarily leave his chin on Sora’s shoulder. “There’s nothing to apologize for, Sora. You’re doing your best.”</p>
<p>“My best…?” Didn’t seem like his best was worth a lot, did it? Not to him, anyway, and Sora sniffled – feeling more tears about to escape, and feeling absolutely powerless to stop them.</p>
<p>“Remember what I said that other night? It’s all right to be sad sometimes.”</p>
<p>“But the ship…”</p>
<p>“Forget about the ship, Sora. <em>You</em> are more important.” Saying this, Donald tenderly brought Sora’s head to rest against his chest.</p>
<p>It was like opening a gate to let out a torrent of water. Suddenly, the whole world was reduced to the bright blue of Donald’s attire, and Sora shut his eyes tightly as he clung to it. The duck’s feathers tickled his nose as he buried his face in the crease of Donald’s neck, but he only felt it for a second or two – till he was unable to hold back any longer, and broke down in a mess of crying and sobbing and sniffling. Everything hurt, inside if not outside, and all he wanted was for it to stop and go away… the sadness, the fear, the doubts, the cruel voice in his head, Riku being lost to the Darkness, Kairi being beyond salvation, everything… all he wanted was what the present moment was: a loving, warm hug to keep him safe. Even if only for a few minutes.</p>
<p>Needless to say, Goofy and Donald both had their heart turned to a ton of heavy bricks, watching their friend come undone like this. No one should ever have to carry the weight of the world on their back, and let alone someone so young. But neither of them, for a single moment, wanted Sora to pretend to be okay, if crying was what he needed right now. Like Goofy liked to say, sometimes you have to knock over the whole shelf before you can tidy up the books again. And, sometimes, you need to cry and scream till your voice goes numb, before you can once more look at the good things in life and keep going.</p>
<p>And so they stayed like this for a good while – Sora crying with all his might, Donald still holding him so protectively and having shifted to sit on the floor so that Sora could snuggle better into him, and Goofy also shifted to catch the other two in his arms. All three of them in a cozy cuddle pile, till eventually Sora’s sobs began dying down and he could breathe properly again. There was now a large wet stain at the front of Donald’s shirt and the sight of it made Sora feel slightly embarrassed – never having meant for this to get so out of hand but, at the same time, already feeling much lighter. That ball of sadness was still stubbornly lodged in his chest, but it didn’t feel about to overwhelm him anymore. Sniffling loudly, he brought a shaky hand up to dab at his eyes.</p>
<p>“I… I don’t think I cried this much since we were little a-and Riku broke my wooden sword…”</p>
<p>“Well, seems to me that Riku’s always causing trouble! Next time we find him, I’m gonna drag him along by an ear and give him a piece of my mind.”</p>
<p>Hyucking, Goofy nodded in agreement and, lacking a better option at the moment, offered one of his baggy sleeves for Sora to wipe his face on. All three of them needed a good scrub in the bath after being in the bowels of a space whale, anyway.</p>
<p>“Thanks, guys… I’m–“</p>
<p>“If you say sorry one more time, I’m gonna club you with my staff!”</p>
<p>The magician’s fake angry expression succeeded in making Sora laugh, still in between some more sniffles – and, just like that, the Gummi started moving again.</p>
<p>“Look, fellas! The ship!”</p>
<p>“We’re flying again…”</p>
<p>“See, what did I tell ya – I said it wasn’t important.”</p>
<p>It was the first time, and probably the last, that Sora was happy to lose an argument to Donald. As he was about to stand up though, since all three of them were still on the floor, he stopped and glanced at the corridor through the room’s door left agape. “What’s that nice smell…?”</p>
<p>“OH!” Instead, it was Goofy who suddenly bounced up like he had springs under his feet, promptly running out and towards the kitchen. “Gawrsh, my cake! Can’t let it burn!”</p>
<p>“Cake?”</p>
<p>“You weren’t in the mood for grilled cheese, so Goofy thought chocolate cake might cheer you up. You better get there now and eat the plate clean, he’s working very hard on it!”</p>
<p>Rubbing at his puffy eyes one last time, Sora nodded with a smile and finally got back up, holding a hand out for Donald. “Yeah… guess I am getting a bit hungry, now.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. This (will be) Halloween!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everyone, Soraaly here! Hope you are all being amazing as usual ♡</p>
<p>Guess the title of this chapter already gave it away, so we all know where we're headed today! :D<br/>Still... has anyone ever asked Sora what he thinks of Halloween? Because this is the real question.</p>
<p>A little note: this chapter is kinda headcanon-heavy, when it comes to Sora's past and background.<br/>Hopefully you can enjoy my ideas for all this!</p>
<p>Happy reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“This should be enough for now.”</p>
<p>“Golly… This place sure is spooky…”</p>
<p>“Aw c’mon ya big lump. There’s nothing here to be scared of!”</p>
<p>Which Donald was saying after having startled himself half to death, accidentally bumping into one of the (very original) pumpkin light posts that lined up the way over to the plaza – but, of course, this was a detail he was leaving out. Both of them were eager to return to the Gummi ship, anyway, because this new world looked a bit too special for their liking… but, just as much, because they’d left Sora on his own for about an hour now. And this usually implied a high probability of some sort of trouble or the other happening.</p>
<p>“Let’s go back, Goofy.”</p>
<p>The idea had been to pay a quick, inconspicuous visit to this new world before officially landing for good, in order to make some notes on the general habits and looks of its inhabitants. This way, Donald would be able to conjure up better disguises with his magic, for the trio to blend in – and avoid more embarrassing situations like what had recently happened at Atlantica, when King Triton saw right through them at first glance.</p>
<p>“Sora’s probably dying to hear about what we saw already.”</p>
<p>Their Keybearer wasn’t tagging along for once, not because he didn’t want to but because Donald and Goofy had threatened to tie him to the bed, till he was feeling better. Being the enchanted world it was, the Disney Castle and all who lived there were immune to pretty much every sort of illness and ailment… but, apparently, that wasn’t the case for human boys.</p>
<p>After their underwater adventures were over and Atlantica’s keyhole was sealed, Sora had requested they lingered for a little longer by the sea shore – because it reminded him so much of home, back at Destiny Islands. His companions didn’t have the heart to tell him no so they stayed camped by the beach, that night. Long story short, Sora spent the bulk of that time diving and swimming, running along the waves, exploring the half-submerged cavern nearby and collecting trinkets… And wearing soaking-wet clothes for so long resulted in him coming down with a bad cold. Might be he was an islander, born for the beach life and all that, but the ocean around these parts was much colder than what he was used to.</p>
<p>For this motive, and since the teen had coughed and sneezed all day and night after that and even got a bit of a fever, Donald and Goofy decided it was for the best if he stayed in bed and rested while the two of them carried out the brief recon mission. Which Sora had also complained enough about but, for once, knight and magician were on the same team against him, and so that argument had died down rather fast and he ended up admitting defeat. Promising to be good while waiting for them, and getting as much rest as he could.</p>
<p>“Sora, we’re back!”</p>
<p>One glance at the bedroom, with the door left open to reveal no one inside, sufficed for them to realize they really ought to have tied him to the bed – but, at the same time, it was the sort of thing that wasn’t surprising anymore. This boy had the energy of a hundred suns in him, even when sick. Regardless, it didn’t prevent Donald from folding his arms and starting to tap his foot on the floor, once they found Sora standing by the ship’s cockpit instead.</p>
<p>“What did we say about staying in bed and resting, Mister Keyblade Master?”</p>
<p>“…Guys!” One look at Sora’s sudden sheepish smile was also good enough to see he’d not expected to be caught – though he made up for it by promptly explaining what he was doing. “I <em>was </em>resting! I just– I wanted to check with Chip and Dale, to see if there’s any new tournament being held at the Coliseum.”</p>
<p>“Like we’d let you participate like this, even if there was one!” Ruffling his feathers, Donald got a hold of Sora’s hands and began tagging him along back to the bedroom, as Goofy walked closer and left the back of his own hand on Sora’s forehead.</p>
<p>“Seems like the fever’s gone down some… but yer still feeling warm, Sora, and you hafta take care.”</p>
<p>“Guys, c’mon… I’m fine, it’s just a cold!” It didn’t help that, as soon as Sora started complaining, the stupid coughing attacked him all over again and left him wheezing – because his stupid nose was also still all stuffy, making it hard to breathe and making his voice sound kinda like Donald’s. “You know I’m looking forward to face Herc in the games…”</p>
<p>“The games ain’t going anywhere. And if you face him while you’re sick, he’s gonna mop the floor with ya.”</p>
<p>…Well, there was no denying the obvious, though Sora couldn’t stop the pout from taking over his face. Patience wasn’t one of his virtues, and wisdom was much less so. “Fine, okay… But then – you guys tell me what you found down there! You promised you’d tell me once you’re back!”</p>
<p>Donald and Goofy exchanged a look between them. Maybe common ground would be the best solution? For someone as energetic as Sora, bedrest was more like deep torture… so maybe they could find a compromise between resting and keeping him entertained, till he was healthy enough for them to go explore the new world properly. Nodding, they looked back at him.</p>
<p>“All right, you’ll help us sort out the information we collected.”</p>
<p>“But! First I’m gonna get ya some warm milk, and you’re gonna bundle up.”</p>
<p>Not ideal, but… this was much better than sulking in bed, so Sora agreed with everything in the span of a split second. While Donald got busy warming up the milk, to which he added a big spoonful of honey, some drops of lemon juice, and a cinnamon stick, Goofy went to grab one of his own fluffy blankets to wrap around Sora’s shoulders – because going around in his jumpsuit only wouldn’t do. Sora himself organized their kitchen table a bit better, grabbing pencils and paper for them to write down notes, and also moving aside the pile of stuff from Atlantica they still had to properly go through. A new keychain, lots of Frost and Thunder Gems, some few Hi-Potions, a random Blizzaga Ring that Sora wasn’t even sure how they’d come across with… and the seashells he’d collected after, by the beach. The ones he wanted to use to make a necklace for Kairi, for when they’d meet again, and another one for his mother, for when they’d return home.</p>
<p>With everything in place and the three of them gathered around the table, the work meeting could begin.</p>
<p>“We saw a sign with <em>Halloween Town</em> written on it, so that must be this world’s name.” Taking one of the pencils, Donald made a quick sketch of the road he and Goofy had just visited, leading up to what they believed to be the town square. Sora followed it attentively, now snuggled up under Goofy’s blanket and sipping his milk.</p>
<p>“Halloween Town… got it. What’s it like?”</p>
<p>“Gawrsh… it was a tad spooky, to tell ya the truth.”</p>
<p>“Spooky? As in… a lot of Heartless around?”</p>
<p>“No, we didn’t see any Heartless yet.”</p>
<p>“Then why is it spooky?”</p>
<p>“Ya know, just like Halloween is supposed ta be. Dark ‘n’ spooky.”</p>
<p>Sora’s clueless stare made Donald blink a few times fast. “Sora, you don’t know what Halloween is?”</p>
<p>“It’s the world’s name, you keep repeating it.”</p>
<p>“No! <em>The</em> Halloween!”</p>
<p>Still clueless, which this time earned him Goofy’s hyucking. “Donald, maybe they don’t celebrate it on Sora’s island.”</p>
<p>“So… Halloween is some kinda celebration?”</p>
<p>“Yes, it’s a seasonal thing. Just like Christmas.”</p>
<p>“Oh. Okay.”</p>
<p>“…You also don’t know what Christmas is??”</p>
<p>Sora shrugged under the blanket, sipping his milk again. “Guess not. Never heard of either of those things.”</p>
<p>“Gee, winter without Christmas must be pretty dull…”</p>
<p>“So the folk at Destiny Islands don’t celebrate anything?”</p>
<p>“Well… we have the winter solstice and the summer solstice, but there isn’t much of a difference. ‘Cause we don’t really have seasons, the weather there is almost always the same. Summer, winter, spring, autumn… Sometimes we have rain, and every now and then we get some bad storms – but it’s usually always sunny and warm.”</p>
<p>“That doesn’t sound so bad.”</p>
<p>“It isn’t, but I guess that’s why we don’t have much to celebrate.”</p>
<p>Despite Sora’s smile, Donald felt a pang of guilt in his chest after this. Back when they had that bad fight, Sora had been so keen on using magic to create snow… and now Donald could finally understand why. Someone who’d spent his entire life in such a tranquil place, where nothing really seemed to happen or change, naturally would get excited about every little new thing. And… the duck had been pretty grumpy about it back then, hadn’t he? Clearing his throat, Donald reached over to pat Sora’s head lovingly.</p>
<p>“Don’t ya worry, we’ll celebrate Christmas this year with you.”</p>
<p>“Really?”</p>
<p>“Of course! We’ll teach you everything about it. Right, Goofy?”</p>
<p>“Yup! We’ll get ourselves a nice big tree, mistletoe and tinsel as well… And the presents, can’t forget the presents!”</p>
<p>“People give presents during Christmas? And… what’s the tree for?”</p>
<p>“We’ll decorate it and fill it with lights, with a star on the top. You’ll see how pretty it looks.”</p>
<p>“And people give presents to their loved ones, to show how much they care – it’s like during birthdays! You have birthdays back home at least, dontcha?”</p>
<p>“Yeah! Those are a lot of fun, I always celebrate with Kairi and Riku. Well… I used to.”</p>
<p>Those two names were still a sensitive topic, after everything that had happened in Monstro’s belly, and Goofy didn’t fail to notice the way Sora’s smile immediately grew dimmer as he spoke of them – so he also wasted no time in leaving his arm around the boy’s shoulder. “Say, when’s your birthday, Sora? You’ll celebrate with us!”</p>
<p>“It’s the 28<sup>th</sup> of March.”</p>
<p>“Phooey, then it’s already gone… We missed it by a few months.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, it was soon before our world was swallowed by the Darkness and I ended up in Traverse Town.”</p>
<p>“No worries, fellas! We’re together now, so we’ll celebrate it next year – when Sora turns 15. What do ya say, Sora?”</p>
<p>The smile was back at max brightness, so Goofy knew he’d done a good job out of this one. “Sounds great! Can’t wait for it.”</p>
<p>“And until then, we’ll have Christmas. But, for now – this is Halloween.”</p>
<p>“Oh, right! So… what’s it about? Do we get presents, as well?”</p>
<p>“No, but we can go trick-or-treating.”</p>
<p>“Meaning, you go ‘round the neighborhood with your friends, collecting candy and giving everyone a good ole friendly fright.”</p>
<p>“That sounds like fun! Is that what they were doing down there, when you visited?”</p>
<p>“Well… not really. We didn’t really see anyone, yet.”</p>
<p>“But everything does look spooky, so we kinda figured it out. Speaking of which–“ Making a pause for suspense, Goofy reached for the things he’d somehow managed to shove into their inventory and pulled out two round, vivid orange pumpkins – one bigger than the other. Then again… they could literally put a whole cottage in there, maybe a couple vegetables wasn’t really that dramatic. “These were just lying there, and I figured they might help us some.”</p>
<p>“What’re you gonna do with that, Goofy?”</p>
<p>“Dontcha know? Halloween is the time for pumpkin carving!”</p>
<p>“Hmm…” Taking the smaller pumpkin, which was almost the size of a head, Donald wondered. “This one gave me an idea.” Saying so, he put his magic to use and turned the pumpkin into a mask with differently colored eyes and a wide, spooky grin.</p>
<p>“Hey, that looks awesome!”</p>
<p>Sora took the mask, staring at it in awe. So Halloween also came along with people wearing special themed costumes? Maybe he could really get into this, even if he was learning all about it for the first time! Slipping the mask around his head, he first experimentally covered his face with it but realized the obvious fact he couldn’t see a thing like that, and that might not be the best idea if they were to run into Heartless down there (what was he even thinking, <em>of course</em> that was gonna happen) – then tilting it aside a bit, so that it was hanging at the side of his face instead.</p>
<p>“How about it?”</p>
<p>“A-hyuck! You’re already looking spooky, Sora!”</p>
<p>“Now we’re missing the rest of our looks,” Donald added, very pointedly, as he distributed paper and crayons among the three of them, “So we’ll each make a drawing of what we wanna look like. Then I’ll make it real with my magic.”</p>
<p>“On it!” Sora reached for his paper so enthusiastically that the blanket began slipping off his shoulders, though Goofy was quick to fix it again for him. They wouldn’t be able to go explore till their Keybearer was all better again, after all. “And I’ll collect more pumpkins when we get there, too, so I can make masks for Kairi and Riku. Can’t wait to tell them all about Halloween and Christmas!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Sooner or later they'll swallow your heart</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everyone, Soraaly here! Hope you are all fantastic ♡</p>
<p>I'm gonna tell you guys to buckle up for feels, right now... and meet me at the end of the chapter notes.</p>
<p>Happy reading!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>Long ago, people lived in peace, bathed in the warmth of Light. Everyone loved the Light. Then people began to fight over it. They wanted to keep it for themselves, and Darkness was born in their hearts. The Darkness spread, swallowing the Light and many people’s hearts. It covered everything, and the world disappeared. But small fragments of Light survived, in the hearts of children. With these fragments of Light, children rebuilt the lost world. It’s the world we live in now. But the true Light sleeps, deep within the Darkness. That’s why the worlds are still scattered, divided from each other. But, someday, a door to the innermost Darkness will open and the true Light will return. Even in the deepest Darkness, there will always be a Light to guide us. If we believe in the Light, Darkness will never defeat us.</em>
</p>
<p>Donald made a pause on his reading, rubbing at his tired eyes. It was an old book, a large volume with a cover made of worn-out leather with golden cursive letters for a title, that he’d borrowed from Disney Castle’s library before leaving with Goofy to go find the Key. The book had no known author, though it was rumored to have been written by a wise man named Ansem. Along their journey, so far, the mage had been reading bits and pieces of it – some random chapters here and there, mostly when he had nothing better to do. Right now, however… right now, it might well have become their last hope.</p>
<p>“I’m back, fellas.”</p>
<p>Goofy’s tone lacked the usual cheer, as he walked inside the hotel room with a bag of food, closing the door behind him. Out of the two fellas he’d just greeted, only one answered back – Donald, turning from the book to glance at his friend.</p>
<p>“All’s still the same?”</p>
<p>Knight and magician exchanged a sad look between them, before turning now to look at the bed closest to the small room’s window. Sora was still asleep, his form barely moving under the blankets, with how quiet his breathing was. Goofy put down the bag and walked closer, casting a look of concern over the boy he’d grown so used to see bouncing around everywhere. It was like looking at a star slowly losing its light, and he didn’t like it one bit.</p>
<p>“I don’t think this book can help us… I’m almost through, and nothing comes up. It talks about the Darkness in people’s hearts… but nothing about what to do when that Darkness becomes alive.”</p>
<p>A sudden whimper coming from under the pile of bed covers made them glance in that direction again. Sora had curled up over himself even more, to the point where only spiky tuffs of his hair were visible, and was squirming as if trying to free himself from some sort of restraints. With a coo, Goofy sat by his side and began stroking the boy’s hair.</p>
<p>“Gawrsh… maybe we should wake him? Seems like he’s having a nightmare.”</p>
<p>“He’s sure been sleeping a lot.”</p>
<p>Donald and Goofy both sighed deeply at the same time, hating this feeling of not knowing what to do and, even more, not knowing what was happening or why. All they knew was that this was Riku’s fault… Riku and that shadow shaped like Sora that he created, back at Captain Hook’s ship.</p>
<p>“Do ya think that maybe… maybe they’re connected?”</p>
<p>“I dunno, Goofy. That was no ordinary Heartless.”</p>
<p>Shaped exactly like their sweet boy, yes, but nothing like him at the same time. That thing was like a blotch of black ink on a canvas. It was terrifying and unsettling, it moved like Sora in every detail and mannerism and even carried a shadow Keyblade of its own… and, ever since it appeared, it was taking an undeniable toll on Sora himself.</p>
<p>First, the obvious fact that Sora could not fight it – they moved exactly the same and at exactly the same time, as if the shadow could read Sora’s mind and predict his every intention, as if they were mirror images, and so their attacks always ended up nullifying each other. When it first happened, with the three of them still locked up in one of the ship’s cells, Goofy and Donald had believed that was why Sora began suddenly acting so antsy – what with one of his best friends having so blatantly sold his heart to the Darkness and the other having apparently lost her heart entirely, and now his own shadow rebelling against him, it’d have been more than understandable.</p>
<p>But then it continued, and it only became worse.</p>
<p>The shadow kept peering out to clash with Sora time and time again and, the more it happened, the more Sora was growing aggravated by it. His blows against the other regular Heartless gradually grew more brutal, as if he wasn’t satisfied only with destroying them but also wished to make sure it was as painful as it could be – which was something not at all typical. Sora had always been merciful, sometimes too kind for his own good, and him cutting through the Heartless so ruthlessly had been a shocking display. Then he’d stopped caring for healing, regarding himself and his good friends, which was also not normal at all. And, when Donald and Goofy tried to ask him about what was going on, out of worry, the reaction was not only a <em>Anyone that’s done this to Riku and Kairi deserves to suffer! </em>yelled rather loudly and angrily, but he’d actually shoved past his companions and hurried along the ship, leaving them behind.</p>
<p>The worst part of it, however, was when they reached the ship’s deck and learned that Riku had already left, along with Kairi. The enraged scream that Sora let out in that moment, more like an animal about to turn feral, pierced Donald’s and Goofy’s memory even now and would likely take a long time to fade. Then the teen had once more ripped his way through the waves of Heartless, along with such frantic spell casting that the deck was left trashed as well… and took Captain Hook on by himself, attacking so viciously that the pirate was soon begging for mercy. Sora wasn’t moved, however, and eventually had his Keyblade at the captain’s throat… and the story might have had a grim ending, if it wasn’t for Hook deciding to fling himself overboard in a panic. And maybe it could have been hilarious, that such a young boy made the almighty Captain Hook abandon his own ship like a scaredy cat… but, with the way it’d happened, it was actually nothing short of disturbing. Donald and Goofy had never seen Sora so out of control, and they prayed they’d never had to, again.</p>
<p>The journey back to Traverse Town, so they could ask Cid to upgrade the Gummi ship, was a rather uncomfortable one. Sora basically secluded himself in his room for the whole time, and the two guardians tried their best to stay out of his way – figuring that some time alone, in order to calm down and sort out his thoughts and feelings, could do him well. Soon after they arrived, though, Sora’s anger flared again and he ended up having a very loud, very tense argument with Cid. The pilot’s intention had been good, wanting to warn the trio about the dangers that littered the path towards Hollow Bastion, once his homeland, and the castle itself – but Sora did not want to listen at all. He took it for Cid trying to prevent him from reuniting with his friends, and went as far as accusing Donald and Goofy of doing the same ever since he left his island… and that whole mess escalated from there, only ending when Leon intervened and saw no solution other than to cast a Sleep spell on the Keybearer.</p>
<p>Once Sora was awake again, however, that’s when matters went from confusing to downright worrisome. First, the rage that’d been taking over the teen was finally subsiding… but, instead of returning to his usual sweet, friendly demeanor, he began acting inexplicably passive. From not really reacting when he was spoken to to having trouble processing where he was and what was happening, it was as though Sora was somehow losing himself and becoming something more similar to a ragdoll. And, adding to this… the fact that, with each passing hour, energy seemed to be seeping out of him like a water bag full of holes. Regular actions were turning into a struggle and he was left exhausted after something as simple as the walk from Cid’s accessory shop to the hotel – as if some sort of malevolent, unknown entity was draining the life out of him. That’d happened before noon and Sora had fallen asleep pretty much as soon as his head touched the hotel bed’s pillow – the sun was now already setting, and he’d yet to wake up.</p>
<p>“What if… what if that shadow’s the reason Sora’s not doing so well, all of a sudden?”</p>
<p>“What do ya mean?”</p>
<p>“Gee, well… When a feller’s lost their heart, they become a Heartless, don’t they? Sora still has his heart, but… if Riku really did make a Heartless out of him – that shadow – then… maybe the shadow’s a part of Sora that’s gone missing…?”</p>
<p>Needless to say, the two guardians were presently sinking in a swamp of concern that threatened to swallow them both. Mulling over Goofy’s words, Donald gave the book another forlorn look. It spoke of the Darkness growing in a person’s heart and stifling the Light, and one might be quick to think that, in this case, taking out the Darkness could only be a good thing… but was it truly so linear? What if the heart actually needed small fragments of Darkness to keep a balance? Light cannot exist without Darkness, after all… just like sweet does not exist without bitter, and warmth does not exist without cold. Was that the problem? Was Sora now suffering because his shadow was stolen out of him?</p>
<p>As he was about to elaborate on his own thoughts, as a complement to Goofy’s, the sudden shift on the bed had them both staring at it and forgetting everything else. It must really had been a nightmare, and it’d jolted Sora awake just now. The teen whined in a quiet voice and struggled with the tangled bed covers, so Goofy promptly helped him get free and to sit up. Whereas he and Donald were glad to see their friend finally awake, however, that relief was short-lived and vanished as soon as they took a good look at Sora’s face. He looked pale, far paler than his usual tan complexion typical of someone who’d spent his whole life in a sunny island, but at the same time… it was a very odd sort of paleness – more like his skin was becoming shadowy itself. Regardless, what scared them for real was the moment Sora looked up to face them and they could see his eyes: the left one was still the same deep blue, though now glossy and lifeless, but the right one had turned to a shade of bright golden. Just like the eyes of the shadow.</p>
<p>Swallowing so thickly that it was audible, Goofy tentatively left his hand on top of the boy’s head – part of him terrified that he would be snapped at, and end up with the Keyblade buried in his chest. As roughly as he’d seen Sora do to the Heartless, back in Captain Hook’s ship.</p>
<p>“Sora…?”</p>
<p>The air hung heavy in the room, for some five seconds that felt more like five decades. There was no reaction initially, and Sora looked as though he was seeing right through them – unaware of their presence, unaware of where he was. Eventually, Donald decided that, if Goofy was brave enough to touch, then so was he – and he climbed down from his chair and walked over to them, taking one of the boy’s hands into both his own.</p>
<p>“Sora? Can you hear us?”</p>
<p>Somehow, thankfully, they managed to pierce through that haze. Sora glanced briefly around the room, finally starting to take in his surroundings, and, when his mismatched gaze landed once more on his friends, this time his expression shifted in a sense of familiarity.</p>
<p>“Guys…?”</p>
<p>It was all Goofy could do, to will his tears back into his eyes – in a wild mix of relief that Sora could still recognize them, frustration that the poor boy had to deal with something like this when he’d done nothing to deserve it, and despair that they still had no idea how to make it better. That hand that was still on Sora’s head gently ruffled the spiky hair, before dropping to begin rubbing soothing circular motions on his back.</p>
<p>“That’s right, it is us!”</p>
<p>“Don’t ya think you’ve napped long enough, ya lazy bum?”</p>
<p>Donald’s very peculiar expression of love and care worked its own magic, and a weak smile was soon tugging at Sora’s lips. Still trying to wrap his mind around what was going on, because it currently felt like his whole head was filled with cotton wool, he leaned into Goofy and gladly let the knight wrap a skinny arm around his shoulders. He felt exhausted as well, completely exhausted as if he’d just run a hundred laps around his island – even if, apparently, he was just rising from a nap.</p>
<p>“Could do with five minutes more, to be honest…”</p>
<p>“How are ya feeling?”</p>
<p>Sora chewed absently on his tongue for a second or two, trying to come up with a reply that wasn’t <em>tired</em>. Exhausted. Absolutely wrecked. Nothing was hurting, through there was an annoying dull ache at the side of his head… but he couldn’t lie and say he was well. Even as he brought his hand up now, to try and rub a bit of the drowsiness off his eyes, his arm felt like it was made of lead. His whole self felt like it was acting on slow motion.</p>
<p>“Tired…” Meh, it was the only honest answer, in the end.</p>
<p>Not an answer that Goofy and Donald were happy with. How could they not worry that he was still tired, even after sleeping through most of the day? The duck glanced back at the book yet again, and wondered if their previous guess might turn out to be correct. Was the shadow consuming Sora’s energy? Was it acting up because it was never meant to be separated from Sora, and couldn’t exist apart from him? Would… Sora himself turn into a shadow? The golden of the boy’s eye was ominous enough, that was undeniable.</p>
<p>“Are ya hungry? I got those dumplings that you love.”</p>
<p>Sora scrunched up his nose at the sound of that. He did love them, it was probably his favorite thing about Traverse Town after the Moogles and their shop… but food didn’t sound appealing at all, right there and then. It was an odd sensation, kinda like his stomach was full even if he couldn’t recall the last time he’d actually eaten… kinda like food didn’t make sense anymore. Like he had no use for it anymore. What a strange thing to feel, right? Shaking his head as a mean of response, he instead found himself asking about something else entirely.</p>
<p>“Hey… did I yell at someone else?”</p>
<p>If the guardians’ hearts were already squished under the weight of everything that was going on, this one question, asked in a weak voice so filled with guilt and regret, took what was left of those hearts and straight up tossed them out of the window. In a way, it was a good sign that Sora remembered what he’d been doing, because this meant he couldn’t be so far out of his right mind… but, at the same time, it also meant he was aware of his outbursts of rage and must now deal with that aftermath. Trying to ignore the knot in his throat, Donald forced himself to put a smile on his face.</p>
<p>“Cid’s not upset because of that, Sora. He knows you’re having a hard time, right now, and he understands.”</p>
<p>“But… I told him some really nasty things. And– and you guys, as well…”</p>
<p>“We ain’t upset, either!” Goofy was quick to join in with Donald’s positivity, not wishing for the poor boy to blame himself for what happened, on top of every other burden he was already carrying. “You weren’t yourself, Sora… we know you’d never say any of those things and mean it. And everyone has bad days.”</p>
<p>“Still… I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to–“</p>
<p>No chance to finish his sentence, before a sting of sharp pain made Sora gasp and promptly clutch the side of his face. For some reason, his right eye suddenly felt like it was on fire and this terrible sensation was quick to spread all over his head – as if it was being pierced by countless burning needles. Goofy and Donald could only stare in helpless panic as the teen writhed in pain, again having no idea of what was happening or what might be causing this agony – till Donald decided to try what he could and pulled out his staff, casting Cura after Cura till he was out of MP, and then again after quickly swallowing down a bottle of Ether.</p>
<p>Fortunately, it seemed to help at least a bit… and eventually Sora began calming down, his breaths ragged and his whole body shaking like a leaf in the wind. It was better than nothing, right…? Even if, at this point, both of them could swear Sora’s skin had grown yet a shade darker. As carefully as possible, they helped him lying down again and it wasn’t long before his exhaustion knocked him out. Donald’s own hands were shaking as he fluffed the covers around the boy, but there was fire in his eyes as he glanced at Goofy over his shoulder – glad to see his friend was returning the same expression of determination.</p>
<p>“Goofy… we gotta do something!”</p>
<p>“Right ya are, pal! With that book there or no book… we’re gonna find out what’s wrong with Sora and make it right again!”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Oof. That was a trip, wasn't it?</p>
<p>The Neverland events deviated "slightly" from canon, as you can see... most of all, because I have a lot of thoughts about Sora's Antiform, and so I wanted to start weaving this idea into the plot already. And the shadow!Sora gave me the perfect excuse for it! Long story short, Riku extracted a part of Sora's Darkness without exactly meaning to, and now our boy is suffering from it because that chunk of his heart is gone. This is a bit similar to Vanitas and Ventus being separated... but, in this case, I wanted to write it more along the lines of Sora becoming Darkness himself - with the way the shadow is draining all his energy and turning /him/ into a shadow as well. </p>
<p>Yup, for some reason I decided I needed this pain in my life &gt;_&gt;<br/>Hope you guys enjoyed this little plot twist and that you'll come around to find out what happens in the next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. If we believe in the Light, Darkness will never defeat us</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hello everyone, Soraaly here! Hope you're all fantastic ♡</p>
<p>I wanna give a shoutout to the lovely Yue_Twili00, because our chat in the comments really inspired me for the start of this chapter!</p>
<p>And the rest I'll leave for the end of the chapter notes, so happy reading for now! :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Traverse Town wasn’t one of Maleficent’s favorite places, but she supposed it could have been worse. She could have had to go to Wonderland, and put up with that irritating cat that not even the Darkness seemed to be able to subdue. Worse, they could have moved the boy to Disney Castle, and then he would have been out of her grasp entirely. All in all, odds were in her favor.</p>
<p>This ploy had been set in motion rather unexpectedly, truth be told – nothing like the gathering of the seven Princesses of Heart, that she’d been so meticulously weaving for the past decade. Sora had gone from an insignificant speck of dust to a mild annoyance, the moment he began journeying and sealing Keyhole after Keyhole, and from that to an actual threat to be considered, now that he’d rescued most of the worlds and defeated most of her allies. Not that Maleficent missed any of those useless fools, except perhaps for Ursula, but she couldn’t afford anything getting in her way. Not when she was, at long last, so close to reaching the Door to Darkness.</p>
<p>Which was why coming up with a plan B, to cover up for any potential mishaps, didn’t sound like a bad idea at all.</p>
<p>There was also the fact that Riku was growing a bit too unruly for her liking… unruly and petulant, as if he was starting to forget why he’d made it this far to start with. Starting to forget who’d granted him his powers, who’d made it possible for him to find that girl that both he and Sora seemed to care so much for. A heart was a dangerous thing to have, the sorceress knew – a heart was a weakness very easy to manipulate. It’d worked well in her favor at the start, because Riku’s feelings of jealousy, pride, and that misguided sense of bravery made him so susceptible to the influence of Darkness. In a way, he’d reminded her of another young man she’d met a long time ago… Terra, that had been his name. Humans were so blissfully unaware of how their good intentions could lead to the most disastrous outcomes, it was almost hilarious to watch.</p>
<p>Sora was different, however – which was why she’d underestimated him, initially. She hadn’t even understood why the Keyblade chose someone like him. Someone so weak, so young, so unprepared. It was only as matters progressed that she’d come to realize that, unlike Riku, Sora’s heart seemed to be far too resilient to the influence of Darkness. The boy was stubborn but optimistic, brave but merciful, skilled but humble… and he was disgustingly kind and selfless. He actually reminded Maleficent of the princesses with the purest of hearts. Light was strong and bright in him, but it wasn’t like he was devoid of Darkness – more like he had it perfectly under control, like he was able to feel negative emotions and energy without being overwhelmed by them. Like he’d always return to the Light, no matter how deep in Darkness he was.</p>
<p>It was an ironic coincidence that, of all people, it’d been Riku who’d thrown that control out of balance, and without even trying or being aware of what he was doing. Maleficent herself didn’t truly understand how it’d happened, because Sora’s heart was incredibly linear and easy to read but, at the same time, so complex and layered and impossible to figure out entirely. The shadow that Riku so recklessly created was supposed to have been no more than an empty puppet – an adversary to be fought and destroyed, like any other. Yet, somehow, it’d stolen a portion of Sora’s heart for itself and was now going haywire. More interestingly, it seemed to actually keep growing stronger, at the expense of Sora himself… and Maleficent wasn’t sure what would happen in the end. If Sora would become the shadow, if the shadow would become Sora, if both would disappear. It didn’t even matter, to her. But what she knew for sure was that this was a golden opportunity to rally the Keybearer to her side.</p>
<p>The dark portal opened and she stepped into the hotel room. It seemed her timing was flawless, because the King’s ridiculous guardians were nowhere to be seen. Sora hadn’t noticed her presence, either, and was sitting near the window with his arms resting on the sill and his head on top of them. Even as she greeted him, it took him a moment to react.</p>
<p>“You look lonely, my dear.”</p>
<p>As he finally looked her way, the witch couldn’t deny that the sight was impressive even to her. Sora’s skin had turned to a shade of dark gray and, while the features of his face were still distinguishable, they’d already started to blend in with the darkness. The most daunting were his eyes, however – the right one was like liquid gold, not at all unlike the eyes of the Heartless Shadows, and the left one still had a glint of bright blue in the middle, around the pupil, but for the most part the iris had also turned to the same shade of golden. As he stared at her, she wasn’t certain that he could recognize her.</p>
<p>“Do you know who I am?”</p>
<p>She stepped closer to him, nonetheless, because it would take far more than the hybrid of a human and a Heartless to frighten the Mistress of Evil. In fact, it looked more like he was the one wary of her, because he growled in a soft, quiet tone and backed himself further against the window. He showed no sign of bringing out that pesky Keyblade, however, and Maleficent stopped beside him and left her hand on top of his head. In fascination, she also took note on how touch seemed to be a good way to bring him back to senses – given that, before long, he was looking at her much differently.</p>
<p>“Ma– Male… ficent…?”</p>
<p>Sora wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or awake. He wasn’t even sure where he was, or what he was doing here. Even this woman in front of him, it took him a while till he remembered who she was. Despite knowing her name, though, he also wasn’t sure why she was here. His friends were much different than her, weren’t they? Growling again in frustration, because the whole world was presently so confusing and so hazy, he brought up his hands defensively – also wondering if they had always looked so much like claws, as they did now.</p>
<p>“I’m not here to hurt you, child. On the contrary–“</p>
<p>Maleficent brought her hand back, not wanting to spook Sora, and offered him a smile. An empty one, that had nothing of warm or genuine to it, but he didn’t seem able to tell the difference.</p>
<p>“–I’m here to help you. I know where your friends are.”</p>
<p>“My… friends…?”</p>
<p>Sora kept the same defensive stance, but hesitated.</p>
<p>“Yes. Riku… and also that girl, Kairi.”</p>
<p>Saying this, Maleficent held her staff further up and touched the gem at the top, causing it to show an image of Kairi sleeping in one of the rooms of Hollow Bastion. Sora’s attention was immediately captured and he forgot he was supposed to be worried about Maleficent, as his hands dropped to his lap and he leaned so close to the staff that his nose was almost touching the gem.</p>
<p>“Kairi… Kairi!”</p>
<p>The witch’s smile grew wider, and far more sinister. She’d not anticipated it to be this easy, really. She’d expected some degree of resistance, perhaps even a fight before she was able to bring Sora back to Hollow Bastion with her… But it seemed like the boy was so far gone he’d come along willingly, like a well-trained puppy. As the image faded from the gem, she cupped Sora’s cheek so gently that it was almost like she did care for him for real, making him look at her.</p>
<p>“She cannot hear you, dear. She’s somewhere far away from here… but I can take you there, if you’d like it. I can take you to Kairi and Riku.”</p>
<p>Sora let out a quiet whimper, mostly because Kairi had been right in front of him just now and, just like that, she was gone again. This is what he was supposed to be doing, right? Looking for Kairi and Riku? Looking for his friends? He then nuzzled into Maleficent’s hand absently, because that touch felt so nice, and tried to make sure he was getting it right.</p>
<p>“My friends… Kairi… and Riku?”</p>
<p>“I’ll take you to them. Will you come with me?”</p>
<p>This is what he was supposed to be doing, <em>right?</em></p>
<p>“I–“</p>
<p>The rest of the sentence turned into a startled hiss, as the room’s door was all but blasted away with a fireball. Maleficent promptly turned around, eyes slightly wide, just in time to see Donald and Goofy marching in.</p>
<p>“You get away from Sora right now, ya nasty old witch!”</p>
<p>Quite frankly, the magician was about ready to make the entire hotel implode, if that’s what it’d take – even if he knew the owner wouldn’t probably be too happy with that sort of property damage. Goofy was right beside him, and, though he had himself busy with carrying a big bag on his back, he brought up his shield nonetheless.</p>
<p>“That’s not very nice, ma’am! Breaking and entering like that!”</p>
<p>Maleficent shot them both with a glare that could have put any viper to shame. She’d been so close… but these clowns just <em>had</em> to come in to ruin everything, didn’t they? Not all was lost, however. All she had to do was to reopen the dark portal and disappear into it with Sora. Which she was just about to do…</p>
<p>…Though, as she reached behind her to grab the boy, she found only thin air. There was the sudden crash of a chair hitting the floor, the chair Sora had been sitting on by the window, and, in the span of a second or less, he’d scampered to the opposite end of the room and was now tucked way behind his guardians.</p>
<p>“You insolent fools! You’ll pay for this, all three of you!”</p>
<p>The sorceress brandished her staff angrily, smacking the bottom of it on the floor, and Donald and Goofy prepared for a fight they weren’t certain they could win – but, in the end, the ghastly green-colored flame that emerged engulfed Maleficent and made her disappear. Needless to say, she was beyond irked by this outcome… but maybe what happened might still become of use to her, at some point. Especially if the three idiots insisted on traveling to Hollow Bastion.</p>
<p>That aside, royal knight and royal mage sighed deeply in relief once the witch was gone. That had been a close one, and they couldn’t believe they’d dared to go up against her like that… but they hadn’t been fretting about a way to help Sora for Maleficent to try and use him on whatever creepy plan she might be coming up with.</p>
<p>Speaking of which…</p>
<p>“Sora!!”</p>
<p>They turned around, and found the teen still hunched over himself and hiding behind their legs. It was adorable, in a way… though matters had just developed so fast, they couldn’t even properly process half of it. All they knew was that they’d sensed that something was wrong as soon as they set foot on Traverse Town again, so obviously they’d hurried over to the hotel, fearing for Sora. Next thing they knew, Maleficent was in the room somehow and her intentions couldn’t have been any good, and that’s when Donald knew he’d have to learn to cast stronger and harder to bypass barriers. Fortunately, it turned out that Sora was still lucid enough to make the right choice.</p>
<p>“Are you all right?”</p>
<p>“Was she mean to ya? Did she hurt you?”</p>
<p>Still, it was undeniable that Sora’s condition had worsened, during the few hours Donald and Goofy had been away to try and solve this mess. Even the way he’d run to them had made him look less than human, more like the bristling of an antsy big cat. The two guardians sat down with him for a moment, wanting to help him calm down before anything else.</p>
<p>“It’s all right, now… she’s gone.”</p>
<p>“And we think we found the way to make ya all better! Just hang in there for a little longer, pal.”</p>
<p>Sora glanced between the two of them, as Goofy and Donald each took one of his hands. This touch felt very different from that of Maleficent, though – it was a touch that made him feel protected, safe, cared for. His heart had remembered this touch even when his consciousness couldn’t, and that’s why he’d so promptly returned to their side. He held their hands back then, being mindful of his claws as to not hurt them.</p>
<p>“She said… Kairi and Riku are… there…”</p>
<p>Donald could feel his feathers ruffling and his temper boiling. How dare that old hag try to trick Sora by using his friends! But there was no time for outrage, right now… especially because the thing in the bag was already struggling to get out.</p>
<p>“We’ll go get ‘em back, don’t worry! But first… we hafta make you better.”</p>
<p>Goofy got up, giving the bag a hopeful look. The Shadow Sora (he’d come up with the name because, really, what else could he call it) was inside, and capturing it had been a trip and a half. He and Donald had returned to Hook’s ship and, thankfully, the shadow was still lurking around there. But it’d been much stronger than before, and the two of them actually lost the fight against it a couple times. Eventually, they’d come up with the brilliant idea of casting Stopra on it, as often as needed, and that’s how they managed to shove it into this bag – also reinforced by means of Donald’s magic.</p>
<p>“So, huh… What’d we do now, Donald?”</p>
<p>It was a very good question.</p>
<p>Donald himself wasn’t certain. Whilst back in the ship, Peter Pan had talked of the time he’d lost his own shadow and how Wendy had sewn it back on the soles of his shoes… but they didn’t believe this was going to be the solution. Regardless, their best chance was to believe that they could do it. They <em>had</em> to do it, if they wanted to save Sora. And… if you believe in your heart and the heart of your friends, you can do anything, right? It was what they’d been telling Sora pretty much since the start of their journey together, now it was their turn to live up to those words.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the execution of the plan couldn’t have started worse.</p>
<p>They eased up the bag just a bit, figuring the first step would be to stop Shadow Sora again, but that was enough for it to break free immediately. It burst out of the bag and knocked them both over rather spectacularly, and began bouncing furiously around the room like a wild animal in a cage. This, in turn, startled Sora and, for a moment, it truly looked like they were going to strike at each other till only one – or perhaps neither – was left.</p>
<p>Goofy and Donald clung to each other, terrified of what was about to happen and having no idea of how to prevent it… Though, in watching, they came to realize that this vicious fight was, quickly, becoming more and more like Sora and his shadow were trying to coordinate their movements again. They’d been like mirror images at first, and maybe that would be the key to solve this mystery…? To make the two of them coexist again, rather than to struggle because they’d been separated?</p>
<p>As if their thoughts had been heard, and someone somewhere was trying to help, a light was suddenly shining in Sora’s otherwise dark gray chest. It began as a feeble little thing, like one single candle trying to illuminate a whole large room, but it was steadily growing stronger and brighter. Dog and duck were staring in a mix of awe and apprehension, but… while they remained uncertain of what to do (or even what was happening), that light was too soothing and too encouraging for them to stay so frightened.</p>
<p>It was now or never.</p>
<p>Goofy stood behind the shadow and gently placed his hands on its shoulders, and Donald stood in front of it and took one of its hands. Slowly but without hesitation, they guided the shadow towards Sora, as that light kept shining brighter and brighter… and the rest happened by itself. The hands of the two boys touched and they laced their fingers together and, just like that, the light became so bright that the guardians had to cover their eyes. The outburst lasted for some good ten seconds, like a star had just collapsed in the room… and, as it began dying down and Donald and Goofy tried to look again, they could see Sora still hovering above the ground for a moment longer, before flopping over.</p>
<p>With a gasp of worry, they rushed over to him immediately – but it seemed to have worked. The shadow was nowhere to be seen anymore, and Sora’s skin and even his clothes were rapidly returning to normal.</p>
<p>“Did we do it…?”</p>
<p>Goofy’s voice was quiet and tentative, as he carefully rolled Sora over on his back and brushed off his bangs, because he genuinely felt almost too scared to believe that this nightmare was over. As if he’d jinx it by talking out loud, and somehow make everything revert and be terrible again.</p>
<p>“The shadow is gone.”</p>
<p>Donald was trying his best to sound more confident, but it was easy to see his reluctance reached as deep as his friend’s.</p>
<p>Fortunately, they wouldn’t have to wonder for much longer. Sora whimpered quietly and was already coming back to senses… and, the moment he reopened his eyes, Donald and Goofy could have cried out loud. Blue eyes! His eyes were blue again, the same beautiful shade of blue they so well remembered! Not able to hold back their relief and joy, the two of them clung to their boy perhaps a bit too enthusiastically, hoisting Sora back up before he could even understand what hit him.</p>
<p>“…Hey! What–”</p>
<p>“SORA!!”</p>
<p>“You’re back!!”</p>
<p>“…Guys– guys, stop it! I can’t breathe!”</p>
<p>Too bad, because they really didn’t seem about to let go any time soon. Realizing he wasn’t going to win this battle, Sora figured he might as well enjoy the over-the-top affection while it lasted, so he threw his arms around his friends and snuggled into them just as much. After a few moments longer of squishing Sora’s ribs with their hugging, nuzzling his cheeks, ruffling his hair, checking him all over to confirm that he was truly back to normal… Donald and Goofy finally started calming down.</p>
<p>Could they be blamed for overreacting, though?</p>
<p>“Sora, how are ya feeling? Is anything hurting?”</p>
<p>“No… I’m just a bit woozy. Guys, what happened?”</p>
<p>“Gawrsh… ya can’t remember anything?”</p>
<p>Sora furrowed his brows, tapping his chin in thought. Clearly, something <em>must </em>have happened… but his head felt kind of empty. If it wasn’t for his friends’ explosion of happiness just now, he could have sworn he was just waking up from an unplanned nap – which, as a matter of fact, happened to him quite often. Riku had once told him that his special talent was to be able to doze off anywhere, at any time.</p>
<p>Riku…</p>
<p>Right, he remembered Riku at the ship! They’d been heading for Neverland but Captain Hook’s ship got in the way, and Riku was there… But most things after that were like a blur. Like Sora had dreamed about it, rather than being there.</p>
<p>“The shadow… do you remember the shadow?”</p>
<p>He did. Kind of. He could remember fighting a shadow that looked exactly like himself… and that moved exactly the same, too.</p>
<p>“Yeah… what was that creepy thing? Is it gone?”</p>
<p>“It is! Thanks to <em>us</em>!”</p>
<p>Of course, Donald wasn’t going to pass out on his chance at bragging – he deserved that much, after everything that’d happened! Sora looked mildly unconvinced however, and though the magician glared at him at first for it, he was soon smiling again.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot to catch up with, but… first, here’s your present!”</p>
<p>“My present?”</p>
<p>Goofy immediately realized what it was about, and smiled widely as Donald pulled an accessory out of his pocket to place on Sora’s hand. “It’s a Raven’s Claw! The shadow feller dropped it last time we fought… and we figured you’d like to have it.”</p>
<p>There was still a lot that Sora wanted to ask about, and probably even more that was currently going right over his head… but he was distracted by this Raven’s Claw, now. It actually looked like it’d provide some very decent stats boosting. Smiling his usual big smile, he glanced back up at his friends.</p>
<p>“Thanks! It looks really neat.”</p>
<p>Again, Goofy and Donald felt the urge to cling to him and snuggle at least for a week. The hug was less dramatic this time, but they both nuzzled into Sora yet again, as he so casually studied the accessory like nothing had happened.</p>
<p>This boy was going to be the death of them someday, but they wouldn’t trade him for the world.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I have to say - Maleficient was always one of my favorite Disney villains, and writing her for this chapter was a lot of fun! She would try and steal our sunshine boy, we all know it... good thing he's got the best dads in this world :')</p>
<p>Also, I sneaked in a few subtle references to Sora's Heart Hotel and all the hearts this boy is gonna have in him, at some point. And we can all thank Ven for lending a hand in fixing this mess, because /he/ was that light that helped bringing the shadow back. Teamwork!</p>
<p>Speaking of which, we all also know what's coming up next.<br/>Hollow Bastion is coming up next.</p>
<p>I'll see you guys there for another batch of feels and emotions!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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